1,000 signatures reached
To: CEO’s of Boots, Superdrug and Lloyds Pharmacy
CUT THE COST OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION
Pharmacies should remove unnecessary barriers and stop pricing some women out of access to emergency contraception. There is simply no justification for the £28 price tag on Emergency Contraception, when women in France pay under £6.
Women should not have to pay over the odds to meet their contraceptive needs.
Why is this important?
This is an outrageous tax on women. Women in the UK are paying 5 times more for emergency contraception (EC) than women in other countries. In many European countries and across North America women are able to pick up the morning after pill straight off pharmacy shelves without questioning. On average women in the UK are paying over £15 more than women in other countries in the EU.
Research by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service shows women feel they are being punished by the high price of EC, which overwhelmingly falls to women, and that the pharmacist consultation can feel embarrassing and intrusive.
While EC can be obtained for free from GPs and contraceptive clinics, appointments can be hard to obtain in the window needed. Women rely on buying EC from pharmacies when they cannot get a timely appointment - a particular problem for women with work and childcare commitments. National pharmacy chains should not be exploiting women in need. It is not good enough that they only offer free EC schemes to younger women, when women of all ages use EC!
They have the power to dramatically improve access to EC by halving the cost - they should do so now.
