Need a prescription for birth control? You may soon be able to get one at your local pharmacy. On Monday, lawmakers considered a bill that would enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception, such as birth control pills or a birth control shot, directly to Georgia residents. The bill, House Bill 1138, was introduced by Rep. Beth […]
House Bill 1138, introduced by Rep. Beth Camp, would enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception directly to Georgia residents. Getty Images
Need a prescription for birth control? You may soon be able to get one at your local pharmacy.
On Monday, lawmakers considered a bill that would enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception, such as birth control pills or a birth control shot, directly to Georgia residents.
The bill, House Bill 1138, was introduced by Rep. Beth Camp, a Concord Republican who said she was inspired to propose the legislation after her daughter faced a two-month delay renewing her birth control prescription.
Currently, Georgia law requires patients to receive a birth control prescription from a doctor, which they can then fill at a pharmacy. The bill, Camp said, could help increase access to contraception in areas with primary care provider shortages, or for working Georgians who might struggle to take time off work to go to a doctor’s appointment.
“In our state, we have such a challenge with access for medical professionals,” Camp told the House Health Committee. “This is just really, to me, opening up a whole new stream of opportunities for women to be able to access contraception.”
Under the legislation, pharmacist-prescribed contraceptives would be available to patients who are 18 and older, as well as to those under 18 if they have a previous birth control prescription from a doctor. Other Southern states that currently allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives include North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
As the bill is written, pharmacists would be allowed to opt into prescribing contraceptives but would not be required to do so.
“They’re not mandated to do this,” Camp said. “This is an option, and I hope it’s an option that our pharmacists will take.”
The legislation would require the Georgia Composite Medical Board and the State Board of Pharmacy to issue a joint protocol agreement, which would take effect at the start of 2027. It would also waive civil liability, criminal culpability and professional discipline for pharmacists who prescribe contraceptives.
Dr. Winnie Soufi, who chairs the legislative committee of the Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, called the bill “a critical step forward in expanding reproductive health care access,” during her testimony in committee.
“We are not replacing the doctor-patient relationship,” she said. “We are ensuring that patients who cannot reach our offices still have the essential care they need to plan their future.”
Rebecca Stone, a clinical professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, said that legislation allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control could help remove barriers to access in both urban and rural parts of the state.
“Women have been using hormonal contraception for 50 years, and this is another way to provide more access to these safe medications,” she said.
However, Stone added that the most successful programs have happened in states that allow pharmacists to bill patients’ insurance for the time they spend providing counseling for and dispensing contraception.
“It’s hard for this to take hold if pharmacists aren’t able to justify the time they spend on the service,” she said.
Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced legislation seeking to reinforce access to contraception in recent years, though the bills have not gained much traction.
HB 1138 only received a hearing Monday. It must pass out of the House Health Committee before it can advance to a vote on the House floor.
Bills have until March 6 to pass out of at least one chamber to have the smoothest path to the governor’s desk. The session ends April 2.
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