Morning-after pill: Call for Boots to cut price of emergency contraception

Megan is campaigning for Boots to reduce the price of its emergency contraception

Campaigners and Labour MPs have called on Boots to cut the price of its morning-after pill permanently after the high street chemist halved the cost for a Black Friday sale.

They've called it a "sexist surcharge" and say it needs to stop.

Campaigner Megan Davenport, 22, says it's "laughable" and "shocking" a pharmacy is "capitalising on contraception".

Boots says its prices are in line with other high street chemists.

During the chemist's Black Friday promotion, its morning-after pill Levonorgestrel has been sold for £8 - outside of that it costs £15.99.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) says it shows it's possible big pharmacies can cut prices when it's in their own interests.

"It is wrong that a woman in need of this essential medication next week will be forced to pay double what is being charged today," Clare Murphy, Chief Executive of BPAS said.

In a statement to the BBC, Boots said it wasn't just emergency contraception in its Black Friday sale, but all men's and women's private healthcare services.

"We sometimes offer short term promotions in order to raise awareness of certain services but it is not usually possible to sustain significant discounts in the long term.

"Our pricing model takes into account the expert clinical advice and consultation that we give with these services and the prices are in line with other high street pharmacies."

In a letter to Boots' chief executive - and signed by 26 Labour MPs - Dame Diana Johnson points out that some online pharmacies are charging as little as £4 for the same medication.

"Boots is almost on every high street, it's a recognised brand and we want them to do the right thing," Dame Johnson told BBC Woman's Hour.

"This is an ongoing issue.

"We don't understand why women are having to pay this extra on medicines that they need - and that's the issue with Boots."

The Labour MP says she hasn't heard anything from Boots yet.

Emergency contraception is available free of charge without prescription from all pharmacies in Scotland and Wales.

In England, contraception services are commissioned locally and it's available in sexual health clinics, some GP surgeries and some pharmacies - but it's not always free of charge.

Campaigners argue it's often hard to get an appointment and services are increasingly under pressure due to cuts in public spending.

Megan tells Radio 1 Newsbeat she's found getting a GP appointment "literally impossible" and she's had to miss her regular contraceptive pill as she's been unable to get an appointment with her GP.

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As a result, going to a pharmacy will be some women's only option to access emergency contraception when their usual method fails.

"I don't really understand why we have to pay - especially for younger girls who may not have the money to buy it", Megan says.

"From personal experience the cost has deterred me and I've risked it.

"I don't think that's what we should be encouraging."

In 2017, some pharmacies - including Superdrug - reduced the price of the morning after pill after a campaign by BPAS.

Boots initially refused to lower the cost because they believed doing so would "encourage inappropriate use".

They changed their position after Labour MPs got involved.

In 2019, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) called for the morning-after pill to be given for free over the counter in all pharmacies, without the person who wanted it having to have a consultation.

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