Arizona Adults Can Now Get Birth Control From Pharmacies Without a Prescription

Then Governor-elect of Arizona Katie Hobbs speaks to attendees at a rally to celebrate Hobbs's victory in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Thursday that birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives will be available to people over 18 at their local pharmacy without needing a prescription.

Until the latest announcement, women 18 years or older in Arizona seeking contraceptives needed annual prescriptions from a doctor to obtain them. Those under 18 will still need to have a doctor’s prescription to obtain contraceptives.

Arizonans over 18 years of age seeking contraceptives must undergo a blood pressure test and complete a screening. They are also encouraged to call ahead to their local pharmacy to confirm whether they can have their contraceptives dispensed there.

A standing order by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) authorizes pharmacists to provide women with birth control, which includes hormonal contraceptive patches, vaginal rings, and oral contraceptives—if the pharmacist is willing and believes the woman is healthy enough to use them—according to the department in a separate release on Thursday.

Pharmacists Can Refuse To Dispense

Kam Gandhi, executive director of the Arizona Board of Pharmacy, told Capitol Media Services that pharmacists can refuse to dispense the contraceptives if they believe it could pose health problems to the woman or if doing so would violate the pharmacist’s religious or moral beliefs.

According to the outlet, women have to fill out a questionnaire at the pharmacies before potentially accessing the contraceptives. Some answers will bar them from such access, including if the women indicate they are currently pregnant, already currently use hormonal birth control, or are nursing a newborn.

Other answers will be used to gauge the woman’s risk factors for adverse events—for example, if the woman indicates she smokes, this is considered to be a risk factor for blood clots if they take hormonal contraceptives.

While the standing order goes into effect immediately, implementing the new statute “may take some time for pharmacies and their staff, and they are not required to participate,” the ADHS noted.

The order was written with the input of the Arizona section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Arizona Board of Pharmacy, and the Arizona Pharmacy Association.

According to the ADHS, Arizona joins more than 20 other states that have statutes or regulations letting pharmacists dispense FDA-approved contraceptives to patients without a prescription.

“Of note under the statute, other licensed prescribers may issue a standing prescription drug order authorizing pharmacists to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives without a patient-specific prescription,” the department stated.