As Republicans in Springfield and Washington push an extreme, right-wing agenda against women’s access to birth control, State Representative Juliana Stratton, D-Chicago, is fighting back by supporting legislation to allow women to receive a prescription for contraception from a pharmacist without having to visit a physician. “Reproductive health is an issue of social and economic justice for women,” Stratton said. “Allowing trained pharmacists to provide contraception has the potential to provide women greater freedom over their own health, save them time and money and lower unintended pregnancies. The inability to make an appointment for a prescription should not stand as a barrier to receiving birth control.”

Stratton is sponsoring House Bill 274, which would allow pharmacists to provide women over 18 with a number of prescription birth control methods including hormonal contraceptive patches and oral hormonal contraceptives, even without a doctor’s prescription. The Stratton-backed bill would also allow pharmacists to provide birth control to women under 18 provided the woman has evidence of a previous prescription from a primary care physician. “Women have to make time for a million items in their hectic schedules – so doctors’ appointments can be expensive and inconvenient for women who simply need prescriptions for safe birth control,” Stratton continued. “This measure would make life much easier for women in my district and across the state.”