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6:22

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PRESCRIPTION-FREE CONTRACEPTIVES STILL MONTHS AWAY FROM NEW JERSEY PHARMACIES

BY: DANA DIFILIPPO - MARCH 27, 2024 6:22 AM



Rule-making is holding up the rollout of prescription-free contraceptives in New
Jersey, according to the Attorney General's Office. (Photo by New Jersey
Monitor)

Anyone hoping to take advantage of a new state law that enables people to get
contraceptives from a pharmacy without a prescription will have to wait until at
least the summer — or maybe much longer.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure in January 2023, and the law was set to take
effect last May.

But government can move at a glacial pace. In October, Murphy and other
officials attributed delays to rule-making by several state boards and said to
expect prescription-free contraceptives to be available in early 2024.

Instead, the Attorney General’s Office — the entity in charge of state boards
and licensing — says the soonest they’ll be available is June. But don’t bet on
that either, as an alphabet soup of entities still needs to sign off on final
rules.

“The precise time frame is subject to change, however, since the final rules
cannot be published until multiple entities — including the joint BME-BOP
committee that developed the rule proposal; committees of both the BME and BOP;
and the full BME and BOP, each of which meets once a month — have deliberated
over and approved the adoption notice,” said Lisa Coryell, an office
spokeswoman.

The BME is the state Board of Medical Examiners, and the BOP is the Board of
Pharmacy.

Pharmacists also must complete a state-approved training program to provide
contraceptives under a standing order to be issued by the Department of Health,
Coryell added. Participation is optional, and Coryell didn’t have numbers on how
many pharmacies plan to participate since the final rules aren’t yet in place.

“The proposed rules were drafted with the goal of encouraging broad-based
participation, and we are hopeful that the rules will increase access to
contraception across the state once they are put into practice,” she said.

Bill sponsor Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) didn’t respond to a request for
comment.

The delay comes as New York’s pharmacies got the green light to begin providing
prescription-free contraceptives. New York has moved faster than New Jersey,
with Gov. Kathy Hochul signing their law last May and the standing order
enabling New York pharmacies to act last week. Both states are behind on the
issue, with two dozen other states already providing birth control without a
prescription.

It also comes as abortions rise in New Jersey.

In June 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion
nationally, about 4,620 women got abortions that month in New Jersey, according
to the Society of Family Planning’s WeCount report. Since then, abortions have
approached 6,000 a month here, with 5,790 in August and 4,940 in September, the
most recent months reported.

The delay isn’t unusual. Officials in December 2021 eliminated a state
requirement that only physicians licensed to practice medicine and surgery in
New Jersey could perform abortions, a move meant to enable midwives to perform
early aspiration abortions. But the final rule on that remains under
administrative review, with an adoption notice expected to be published “in the
coming months,” Coryell said.



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DANA DIFILIPPO

Dana DiFilippo comes to the New Jersey Monitor from WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR
station, and the Philadelphia Daily News, a paper known for exposing corruption
and holding public officials accountable. Prior to that, she worked at
newspapers in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and suburban Philadelphia and has
freelanced for various local and national magazines, newspapers and websites.
She lives in Central Jersey with her husband, a photojournalist, and their two
children. You can reach her at ddifilippo@newjerseymonitor.com.

New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest
state-focused nonprofit news organization.

MORE FROM AUTHOR

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25, 2024
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Moseley-MorrisApril 24, 2024




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PRESCRIPTION-FREE CONTRACEPTIVES STILL MONTHS AWAY FROM NEW JERSEY PHARMACIES

by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
March 27, 2024

<h1>Prescription-free contraceptives still months away from New Jersey
pharmacies</h1> <p>by Dana DiFilippo, <a href="https://newjerseymonitor.com">New
Jersey Monitor</a> <br />March 27, 2024</p> <p>Anyone hoping to take advantage
of a <a
href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2022/11/14/lawmakers-move-to-make-contraceptives-available-over-the-counter/">new
state law</a> that enables people to get contraceptives from a pharmacy without
a prescription will have to wait until at least the summer — or maybe much
longer.</p> <p>Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure in January 2023, and the law
was set to take effect last May.</p> <p>But government can move at a glacial
pace. In October, Murphy and other officials <a
href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/10/11/over-the-counter-contraceptives-to-start-at-new-jersey-pharmacies-in-early-2024/">attributed</a> delays
to rule-making by several state boards and said to expect prescription-free
contraceptives to be available in early 2024.</p> <p>Instead, the Attorney
General’s Office — the entity in charge of state boards and licensing — says the
soonest they’ll be available is June. But don’t bet on that either, as an
alphabet soup of entities still needs to sign off on final rules.</p> <p>“The
precise time frame is subject to change, however, since the final rules cannot
be published until multiple entities — including the joint BME-BOP committee
that developed the rule proposal; committees of both the BME and BOP; and the
full BME and BOP, each of which meets once a month — have deliberated over and
approved the adoption notice,” said Lisa Coryell, an office spokeswoman.</p>
<p>The BME is the state Board of Medical Examiners, and the BOP is the Board of
Pharmacy.</p> <p>Pharmacists also must complete a state-approved training
program to provide contraceptives under a standing order to be issued by the
Department of Health, Coryell added. Participation is optional, and Coryell
didn’t have numbers on how many pharmacies plan to participate since the final
rules aren’t yet in place.</p> <p>“The proposed rules were drafted with the goal
of encouraging broad-based participation, and we are hopeful that the rules will
increase access to contraception across the state once they are put into
practice,” she said.</p> <p>Bill sponsor Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) didn’t
respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>The delay comes as New York’s
pharmacies <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/nyregion/new-york-birth-control-over-the-counter.html">got
the green light</a> to begin providing prescription-free contraceptives. New
York has moved faster than New Jersey, with Gov. Kathy Hochul signing their law
last May and the standing order enabling New York pharmacies to act last week.
Both states are behind on the issue, with two <a
href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/pharmacist-prescribed-contraceptives">dozen
other states</a> already providing birth control without a prescription.</p>
<p>It also comes as abortions rise in New Jersey.</p> <p>In June 2022, when the
U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion nationally, about 4,620
women got abortions that month in New Jersey, according to the Society of Family
Planning’s WeCount <a
href="https://societyfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SFPWeCountPublicReport_2.28.24.pdf">report.</a> Since
then, abortions have approached 6,000 a month here, with 5,790 in August and
4,940 in September, the most recent months reported.</p> <p>The delay isn’t
unusual. Officials in December 2021 <a
href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/09/23/new-jersey-advances-plan-to-allow-midwives-to-perform-early-abortions/">eliminated</a> a
state requirement that only physicians licensed to practice medicine and surgery
in New Jersey could perform abortions, a move meant to enable midwives to
perform early aspiration abortions. But the final rule on that remains under
administrative review, with an adoption notice expected to be published “in the
coming months,” Coryell said.</p> <p> <a href="/subscribe"> <div
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