For some U.S. women who buy hormonal contraception via an app, it's all about convenience — birth control pills in the mail, without an office visit. But in Texas there's much more to it.
Making contraceptives available over the counter is safe, a review of research finds, and could lead to fewer unplanned pregnancies in both teens and adult women.
California law now permits pharmacists to sell many types of hormonal birth control methods without a doctor's OK. But good luck finding a drugstore that will dispense the contraceptives that way.
Hormones from medical treatments wind up in wastewater, and that can be a problem. Some scientists think a version of a household chemical, hydrogen peroxide, could be part of the solution.
And when the use of intrauterine devices and hormonal implants by young women goes up, the number of unplanned pregnancies sharply drops, researchers find.
