Should birth control be for sale over the counter?

Birth control raises the number of unwanted and teen pregnancies

Question: Should birth control be for sale over the counter?
Position‹2 of 2: No, OTC birth control should not be for sale
Argument1 of 3›: Birth control raises the number of unwanted and teen pregnancies

Health professionals are concerned that instead of reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies, making birth control available over the counter would actually increase the number, especially in teen populations. Birth control is not always effective, and making it available over the counter would be irresponsible.

The argument

Making birth control available over the counter is not effective in reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Though it may sound like a good idea in preventing pregnancy. making the drug available to the general population is irresponsible, especially when it comes to preventing teen pregnancy. Teenagers do not always take responsibility when it comes to birth control. Many are uneducated about the overall effectiveness, and the proper way to use it. Instructions require a woman to take the pill at the same time every day for more effective use, but it is still not 100% effective. Many women who take birth control also use other contraceptives along with it, such as condoms. By making the pill readily available without consulting a doctor, teens would be more likely to use the drug, and not take other pre-cautions to increase effectiveness. If birth control were available over the counter, there should be an age restriction. If 18 was the required to purchase birth control in a pharmacy, maybe the chances of preventing teen pregnancy would increase. But the chances are still small when you compare it to the number of women who still get pregnant while taking the pill.

Premises

[P1]Making birth control available over the counter would let teenagers obtain it without a doctor's guidance. [P2] Teens are often uneducated about the pill's proper use, and it is not 100% effective even when taken correctly at the same time each day. [P3] Easy access would make teens more likely to rely on the pill alone and skip additional precautions like condoms, so more would still get pregnant. [C] Therefore, because over-the-counter birth control would raise the number of unwanted and teen pregnancies, OTC birth control should not be for sale.

Counter-arguments

Though birth control is not 100% effective in preventing pregnancy, the chances of getting pregnant on birth control are still very small. Still, the number of teen pregnancies in the United States is relatively higher than many other western industrialized nations. If birth control were made available over the counter, these numbers would decline, and would prevent the number of teen pregnancies annually. The record number of teen pregnancies in the United States has declined significantly over the past few years. The number one reason for this is the use of contraceptives. If birth control was available over the counter, these numbers would continue to decline. There are always risks involved, but making birth control available in pharmacies would be more beneficial in preventing unintended or teen pregnancy than having to consult a doctor.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] This describes the proposal rather than giving a reason against it, and it omits the comparison that matters. The alternative to unsupervised access is not guided use but a prescription barrier, under which some people use no method at all. [Rejecting P2] The premise concedes the pill is effective and then treats imperfect effectiveness as an objection. Typical-use failure is around seven per cent a year, against roughly eighty-five per cent for no method, so the relevant comparison runs strongly the other way. The education point is also an argument for better sex education and clearer labelling rather than for restricting access. [Rejecting P3] This is a behavioural claim — risk compensation — advanced with no evidence. Studies of expanded contraceptive access have generally not found the substitution effect predicted here, and the counter supplies the outcome data: teen pregnancy in the United States fell sharply over this period, attributed principally to increased contraceptive use. The premise also conflates two distinct aims, since condoms prevent transmission of infection while the pill does not, and neither substitutes for the other.