Bill > S3742

Introduced Session

This bill amends the "New Jersey Pharmacy Practice Act," to require retail pharmacies to stock emergency contraception (EC) in pill form and sell or dispense the prescription drug, as applicable, to any person in accordance with federal Food and Drug Administration regulations. The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved the sale of EC without a prescription to persons 17 years of age and older. For women 16 years of age and younger, a prescription for EC is still be required. EC, also called postcoital contraception, is used to keep a woman from getting pregnant when she has had unprotected vaginal intercourse. "Unprotected" can mean that no method of birth control was used, a birth control method was used but did not work or the woman may have been abused or forced to have sex when she did not want to. EC has been available for more than 25 years and is a safe and effective method of contraception. The federal Office on Women's Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that EC cannot end a pregnancy; it keeps a woman from getting pregnant by stopping ovulation (stopping the ovaries from releasing eggs that can be fertilized), fertilization (stopping the egg from being fertilized by the sperm) or implantation (stopping a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the wall of the uterus). EC pills are typically taken in two doses, 12 hours apart, and work best if taken within 72 hours of unprotected vaginal intercourse. Timing is important as to how well EC works; the sooner a woman gets the EC after unprotected vaginal intercourse, the better it works. In order to ensure that women in this State can readily access EC, this bill, therefore, requires all retail pharmacies in the State to stock the medication and dispense it to any person upon presentation of a valid prescription.

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Committee Categories

Joe Vitale (D)*,  Loretta Weinberg (D)*, 

Reported from Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading (on 11/14/2019)

Official Document