Editorial: North Carolina has made birth control more accessible. But there may be a costly hitch

North Carolina isn’t exactly considered a champion of reproductive rights.

So it may come as a surprise that North Carolinians can now get hormonal birth control without a doctor’s prescription, thanks to a law initially passed last year by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

The law, which went into effect Tuesday, allows pharmacists to dispense birth control pills and patches without the signature of a patient’s physician, removing a significant, unnecessary barrier that prevents many people from obtaining hormonal contraception.