Reproductive rights have always been about access. More specifically, who controls access to the medical services necessary for reproductive rights to have any meaning. Upper middle class women (or the women of upper middle class men) have always had access. Even when abortion became illegal in the United States, there was the option of a sojourn to Europe or a tour of Japan even if one didn't have the "understanding" physician who was willing to "protect" someone's reputation.
The battle over the Plan B emergency contraception pill was explicitly about access. Did you need permission from a physician to get it, or could you walk over to your neighborhood drugstore and pick it up yourself? If you had unprotected sex on Saturday night did you have to wait until Monday to see a doctor for a treatment that was most effective within 12 to 24 hours of the event? This was a battle worth waging and a victory to be savored.
Some are still crying it's only half a loaf. And they are correct. However, you do not need to wait for the next confirmation battle or for the FDA. Girls between the ages of 14 and 17 have been able to get the Plan B pill under Hawai'i State Law and they've been able to do it since 2004. They've had access in Washington state since 1998. There are a total of nine states which have allowed participating pharmacists to write prescriptions for emergency contraception.
In 1970, Hawai'i was the first state to legalize abortion. (Oh, and by the way, it was a Catholic governor who understood separation of church and state who allowed that bill to become law without his signature). All four counties have an abortion provider. In 2006, the state legislature passed a law which affirmed women's right to choose even if Roe v. Wade were overturned.
The State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female." H.B. 1242, 23rd Leg., Reg. Sess. (Haw. 2006) (to be codified at Haw. Rev. Stat. § 453-16).
Pharmacists must be certified by the state in order to administer Plan B. 167 pharmacists in 60 pharmacies have completed the necessary training. According to Planned Parenthood Hawai'i, 38 clinics in the Islands tallied a total of 4,327 visits for emergency contraceptives last year. Longs Drugs store (an icon here) has had about 1,000 requests since 2004. That's a lot of access.
Nine down, 41 to go. To see what access is like in your state, check out either the Center for Reproductive Rights or NARAL.
