Fleming offers amendment to increase access to contraceptives

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Rita Fleming (D-Jeffersonville) offered an amendment to Senate Bill 2 (ss) today that would make it possible for Indiana pharmacists to prescribe hormonal birth control to women. The amendment failed by a vote of 48-49. Upon the failure of the bill, Fleming offered the following statement:

“Along with being a Representative, I have also been a practicing OB-GYN for several decades. Roughly half of pregnancies in Indiana are unplanned. If we want to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies – which logically would reduce the need for abortions – we have to make hormonal birth control more accessible. Two-thirds of Hoosier women live in counties without an OB-GYN, and having to take off work and drive to another county to be prescribed birth control presents a significant barrier. Training pharmacists on how to prescribe contraceptives and complete a health screening will make it easier for so many women to obtain birth control and have more control over their reproductive health. If this had passed, Indiana would be joining several Republican-led states, including Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas, in allowing this practice. If Indiana Republicans are getting ready to ban abortions, we have to make it easier for Hoosier women to prevent getting pregnant in the first place.”