Pharmacy access vs. Over-the-counter access: What’s the difference?

We’re closer than ever to having the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the United States. In the meantime, several states like California, Illinois, and North Carolina have expanded access by passing laws to allow pharmacist prescribing, which enables pharmacists to prescribe the pill as well as other hormonal contraceptive methods, including the patch, ring, and/or shot. Oftentimes, pharmacist prescribing is mistakenly referred to as “over-the-counter" access, but that’s not exactly accurate.  

Pharmacy access is a huge step toward greater birth control access for everyone, but it can only happen one state at a time. We can go further in expanding access to contraception by making birth control pills available over the counter. We break down the biggest differences between the two models in this chart.