SHOULD YOU BE ABLE TO GET THE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL OVER THE COUNTER WITHOUT A DOCTOR'S CONSENT?
- SISTERHOOD
- Mar 5, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 6, 2018
Online websites now allow women to purchase forms of contraception, photograph: CC
By Alizey Mirza
05.03.18
We can all agree that periods are a nuisance, particularly when you’re boarding a plane headed to a warm climate and sandy beach.
However, stopping your natural blood flow by taking the contraceptive pill has become easier than ever due to its accessibility online. In 2008, medical website Dr. Thom introduced the distribution of the contraceptive pill through patients filing out a short medical history form online. Before then, getting hold of the pill was next to impossible without consent from a GP.
Today, there are websites and apps such as SH:24 that allow you to purchase contraceptive injections and STI tests online by simply providing your credit card details.
On one hand, buying the contraceptive pill without having to physically go to the GP may sound like a quick and easy solution. On the other hand however, it comes with high risks. Dr. Rabia Yaqoob warns that without a doctors’ consent, taking the pill can cause serious lifelong damage: “Before prescribing a patient any form of contraception, it is important that health professionals take a detailed history, which should include medical conditions both past and present, drug history and family history. This cannot be done over the internet.”
With the contraceptive pill being so easily available online, it poses a high danger to young girls below the 18. Despite patients having to specify their age, it is easy for someone to lie in order to meet the desired requirements. Without online doctors physically meeting their patients to prescribe them the pill, they are forced to rely on the accuracy and honesty of the information provided on the forms. The service is now available to all women, whether they have previously been prescribed the pill or not.
According to Dr. Yaqoob: “Though these websites aim to make getting hold of the pill easier for those who don’t have time to see a GP, it is highly risky. It’s easy to fill out a form online with false information simply to get hold of the pill.”
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