Testimony in Support of the Massachusetts Emergency Contraception Bill
Synopsis: The Executive Director of Mass NARAL advocates for expanded access to emergency contraception.
STATEMENT OF MELISSA KOGUT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MASS NARAL, CHAIR OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COALITION FOR CHOICE, ON THE NEW MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION BILL
Today, the Joint Committee on Health Care will hold a public hearing about an important new bill that will increase access to emergency contraception in Massachusetts.
Emergency contraception, commonly known as “the morning after pill,” is a contraceptive method for use after sex, when contraceptives have failed or no contraceptives were used. The sooner EC is used the more effective it is, but it can prevent pregnancy when taken up to five days of unprotected sex.
This year, more than 70,000 women in Massachusetts will face an unintended pregnancy. Half of these pregnancies will end in abortion.
The emergency contraception bill has the power to dramatically reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy in Massachusetts by doing two things. First, the bill will enable pharmacists to directly dispense emergency contraception (EC) to women though a collaborative agreement with a physician. Second, it will make EC available to rape survivors at hospital emergency rooms.
We know that EC has vast untapped potential to reduce unintended pregnancy. But availability of EC remains limited in Massachusetts. Today, EC cannot be obtained here without a doctor’s prescription. This makes EC unattainable for a large number of women, especially in the critical hours immediately following unprotected sex.
This problem is further complicated for women in rural areas or those lacking primary care physicians. By making EC available at pharmacies and hospital emergency rooms, one significant barrier to timely access would be removed.
The bill is supported by virtually every major state health organization, including the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Massachusetts Public Health Association.
Similar collaborative practice agreements allowing pharmacists to dispense EC are in place in four states: Washington, California, Alaska, and New Mexico. And, seven states have laws requiring hospital emergency rooms to provide EC and/or to provide information about EC: California, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington.
This legislation would go a long way toward curbing the growing public health crisis of unplanned pregnancy in our state. For those who would seek to lower rates of unintended pregnancy, and by extension, abortion – the time to act is now. I urge members of the House and Senate to support the bill and for Governor Romney to sign it into law.
We have a number of people with us this morning. I’ll introduce them all at once. Two of the lead sponsors in the House, Rep. Ellen Story and Rep. Doug Petersen; Dr. Heather Sankey, Medical Director for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts; Dr. Jim Feldman, of the Massachusetts Chapter of American College of Emergency Room Physicians; Dr. Tanya Dougherty, Pharmacist and Assistant Clinical Specialist at Northeastern University; Liza Sirota White, of Jane Doe, Inc; and Rev. Victoria Weinstein.
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