Buying emergency contraception is legal but not always easy at small, mom-and-pop pharmacies

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/wvu-bec092920.php

News Release 29-Sep-2020
West Virginia University

About 22 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 report having used emergency contraception. But even though the Food and Drug Administration approved levonorgestrel--more commonly known as Plan B--for over-the-counter use for women of all ages in 2013, it's not always easy to get--especially at local, mom-and-pop drug stores.

According to a new study led by West Virginia University researcher Amie Ashcraft, chain pharmacies in West Virginia--like CVS and Walmart--are much more likely to stock emergency contraception than smaller independent pharmacies. It was available at 76.3 percent of the chain pharmacies her research team queried, whereas only 14.6 percent of independent pharmacies had it on hand.

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