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knute buehler

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No, you shouldn't need a doctor to get birth control. Just look at Oregon.

Oregon and California now allow for women to get the birth control pill without a prescription. Will other states follow?

In its more than 55-year history, birth control pills have been available only by prescription in the U.S.

And in that time, the pill has become the go-to contraceptive choice for sexually active women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 4 in 5 sexually experienced women have at one point taken the pill. It's considered highly effective, with a more than 90% success rate.

Still, despite its popularity and track record of relative safety, the process of actually acquiring hormonal contraceptives has required women to get prescriptions.

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