As contentious as the issue of abortion rights is at the moment, it would be easy to assume there’s no overlap between those who believe women have a right to biological self-determination and those who believe that terminating a pregnancy at any stage is murder — an argument that some lawmakers in red-state America are already attempting to press into law.
But there’s actually one area where the two sides of this fraught debate should be able to agree: The ideal solution to the abortion conundrum is fewer unwanted pregnancies to begin with. If abortion-rights activists are serious about helping the women who are most vulnerable in this debate, and if anti-abortion activists are serious about reducing the number of abortions taking place, both should work together — maybe just this once — to make oral contraceptives available over the counter.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Physicians have said for years that standard birth control pills could be safely sold over the counter without prescriptions. Daily birth control pills work with hormones to prevent fertilization from occurring. The pills also can thin the walls of the uterus to make it less likely a fertilized egg will attach. No embryo, no pregnancy.
