Doctors are calling for the morning-after pill to be sold in corner shops, supermarkets, and petrol stations alongside medicines such as paracetamol, after a new survey suggested many people worry they cannot access emergency contraception outside normal pharmacy opening hours.
The proposal, put forward by the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (CSRH), would see the morning-after pill reclassified under the General Sales List, allowing it to be purchased directly from retail outlets without first speaking to a pharmacist.
The recommendation follows a YouGov survey of 2,115 people across the UK, which found that 43% believed it would be difficult to obtain emergency contraception on a Sunday, while 65% thought it would be difficult after 10pm. By contrast, only 7% believed it would be difficult to access during weekday daytime hours.
Emergency contraception is currently available from pharmacies, GP surgeries, sexual health clinics, and NHS walk-in centres. Since October last year, it has also been available free of charge across England, having previously cost up to £30 from pharmacies.
However, doctors behind the latest campaign argue that requiring a consultation with a pharmacist creates unnecessary barriers for a medicine that is most effective the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex.
Dr Zara Haider, President of the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, described emergency contraception as a “safe and effective but time-sensitive” medicine, adding that “women shouldn’t have to navigate unnecessary hurdles to get emergency contraception, particularly when time matters.”
She said making it available alongside condoms and pregnancy tests would be “a simple fix” and argued that “the decision to prevent an unintended pregnancy is a basic human right”.
The survey found that 61% of respondents supported wider retail availability, with support rising to 75% among those aged 18 to 34.
The proposal has also been backed by organisations including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, and MSI Reproductive Choices.
SPUC CEO John Deighan says: “The proliferation of the morning-after pill is not about preventing pregnancy, it’s about creating a care-free sex-obsessed and baby-fearing culture. Since the widespread use of contraception, the West has seen abortion rates skyrocket and our social fabric break down. Dr Haida’s claim that preventing unwanted pregnancy through chemical means is a human right is preposterous, and a sign that modern British culture is one that calls people to think inwardly, rather than serve others outwardly.
“Whilst the morning-after pill does not always equate to procuring an abortion, there are times when its use is abortifacient. Abortion pills-by-post is dangerous enough, let alone in corner shops and petrol stations.
“Fertility is not a problem to be solved. British society needs to lose its fear about childbearing and embrace the greatest gift in the world. Policies like this will be of no help in doing that.”
