BILL NUMBER: S6450
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring pharmacies
to stock emergency contraception
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The bill would amend the education law in order to require pharmacies to
stock and have readily available over the counter emergency contracep-
tion.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 requires pharmacies to stock emergency contraception.
Section 2 provides for the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has 250,000 pregnancies a year, more than half of which occur
among women who did not plan on having a baby. In 2010, the government
spent $1.5 billion on unintended pregnancies. There are two main causes
of these unplanned pregnancies. Half are caused because couples' contra-
ception failed. The other half of occurrences are from couples that did
not use contraception. But this does not need to remain the status quo.
Experts believe that increasing the availability of emergency contracep-
tion would prevent a quarter of unintended pregnancies and cut the
abortion rate in half.
Improving access to emergency contraception by stocking them in every
pharmacy would address both causes of unintended pregnancies. This bill
does just that, by requiring all pharmacies, regardless of moral
beliefs, to provide emergency contraception to those in need. Pharma-
cies, as places of public accommodation, should be obligated to provide
this essential medicine. Currently independent pharmacists are not
required to provide medicines if their use violates their morals. But,
these personal choices in effect impose the same beliefs on the rest of
society. A woman has 72 hours to take emergency contraception for it to
be effective, and every hour reduces its efficacy. Couples, especially
those in rural areas, do not have the luxury of time to go from store to
store to find emergency contraception.
While we must respect individuals' religious beliefs, the tremendous
lack of emergency contraception violates the rights of citizens who are
entitled to contraception. we must protect the individual's freedom to
choose.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A573-2017/18-referred to Higher Education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
none
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.