drst:
talesofthestarshipregeneration:
At last, new paper from Johns Hopkins Medicine puts the critics to rest. The team of researchers reviewed copious data related to teenagers who take oral contraceptives and found they are indubitably capable of taking the pill responsibly—in fact, many already are. Therefore, the team strongly urged that birth control pills become over-the-counter drugs for adolescents as well as adults. The researchers’ findings were published on March 14th in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“We tried to review the scientific evidence and list of benefits to a decision [to make birth control available over the counter],” co-author and Columbia University professor John S. Santelli told Gizmodo. “The bottom line of the paper is that we think adolescents are fully capable of taking the pill correctly. We strongly urge that there not be a restriction of age about [how a person can obtain] oral contraceptives.”
This is so important. Make it otc. Eliminate gatekeeping and let folks have access universally
So honest question.
Before you go on BC there’s usually a blood panel and a bunch of questions, not to determine if you’re mature enough for BC, but to determine whether going on hormones is something your body can handle. Like, if you get migraines with auras, you’re at a much more significant risk for stroke, and hormonal BC is usually *not recommended*. There are other conditions that folks can have as well, where adding hormones to their body could lead to life-threatening situations.
If we make BC OTC, thus meaning people don’t get tested for these conditions, how do we keep hormonal BC from killing people?
The same ways we do with every other over-the-counter drug. There are huge packets of counterindications and warnings and things in every bottle of medicine you buy. Some have to do with medication interaction, some with conditions, etc etc.
I have literally never had a doctor even suggest bloodwork before prescribing birth control.
Most of the doctors I’ve seen who’ve prescribed BC have seen my bloodwork, though. Even if they didn’t do a draw for that specific reason, they’ve seen my lab results.
This also wouldn’t solve the “hormonal BC doesn’t work for anyone over 150 lbs” problem.
Oooo, yeah. No. If they ever can fix the relationship between progesterone and increased blood pressure, then sure, OTC would be fine. I tried about six different oral contraceptives in my 20′s and 30′s and each one increased my blood pressure within a couple months.
It’s Time to Make Birth Control Accessible Over-the-Counter, For Everyone
Hearseeno 