Health authorities in Auckland have given the go-ahead to a plan that will give Auckland women free access to the morning after contraceptive pill.
Under the plan, pharmacies will supply the emergency
contraceptive pill to any woman at no cost.
The pills can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after
sex.
Free condoms and a pamphlet advising the women on other methods of
contraception will also be handed out as part of the $300,000 trial
scheme.
Pharmacists will have the option of referring women seeking the
pills to a family doctor instead of dispensing the morning after
pill.
Dr Denis Jury from the Auckland District Health Board said some
women had been deterred from using the morning after pill because
of the cost.
"It is no secret that New Zealand has a higher rate of teenage
pregnancies than many other developed countries, and it would
appear that this is a problem that is particularly magnified in the
Auckland region," Jury said in a statement.
