Monday 31st March 2025
Commenting on the announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care that the ‘morning-after pill’ will be made available "free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS for the first time ever, ending the postcode lottery women face in accessing the medicine and reducing inequalities", Heidi Stewart, Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, said:
"We welcome today's announcement that the government will expand pharmacy provision of free emergency hormonal contraception and work to end the current postcode lottery.
"Emergency contraception is safe and effective, and while it is not a silver bullet to reduce the rates of unplanned pregnancies, it remains a significantly underutilised resource. Research indicates that only one in three women in the UK use it after an episode of unprotected sex.
"The government’s proposals, if backed-up with appropriate funding and also training for pharmacists to enable them to deliver the scheme, will support more women to access this important medication. However, if the government are truly committed to ensuring all women can access emergency contraception when needed, they must also reclassify EHC as a general sales list (GSL) medication, so that it can be sold straight from the pharmacy shelf – as it is in many other countries.
"There is clear precedent for such action. In 2000, the-then Secretary of State for Health reclassified Levonelle Emergency Contraception from a Prescription Only Medication (POM) to a Pharmacy Medication via a Statutory Instrument. This would be a straightforward government intervention to further improve women’s ability to prevent unplanned pregnancy and improve their reproductive wellbeing."
For further information, please contact Katherine O’Brien, Head of Campaigns and Communications. on katherine.obrien@bpas.org or 07881265276.
Notes to Editors:
- BPAS, along with a wide range of organisations led by the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH), supports the reclassification of oral emergency contraception (EHC) from a Pharmacy (P) medicine to a General Sales List (GSL) medicine, allowing EHC to be sold straight from the shelves without a mandatory consultation across retail outlets, as happens in other countries including the US, Sweden and Norway.
- BPAS patients who experienced an unplanned pregnancy have reported that embarrassment deterred them from getting EHC, and the majority of women would prefer that the pharmacist consultation is optional. In addition, 20% of women are being turned away due to lack of pharmacist availability or stock.
- EHC is safer than medicines sold off the shelf like paracetamol, proton pump inhibitors and nicotine replacement therapies.
- For further background on the case for the reclassification of emergency hormonal contraception, please read our briefing note online here.
About BPAS:
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here.