The leading pharmacy chain Boots has refused to drop the price of the morning-after pill because it feared an increase in complaints.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) wants the company to reduce the cost of emergency contraception from €35 and £28.25 in its Irish and British stores. BPAS said it was particularly important to remove barriers for women trying to access emergency contraception in Ireland because of the state’s attitude towards abortion.
Boots has argued that emergency contraception “polarises” public opinion and that it was often criticised for providing the service.
The pharmacy giant said it would not drop the price because it did not want to provoke complaints or to be seen to “incentivise inappropriate use” of the drug.
In a letter to BPAS, Marc Donovan, the chief pharmacist for Boots, said that the pill was available over the counter after a consultation with a pharmacist. “The consultation with the pharmacies helps to avoid emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) being misused or overused.
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“In our experience, the subject of emergency hormonal contraception polarises public opinion and we receive frequent contact from individuals who voice their disapproval of the fact that the company chooses to provide this service.
“We would not want to be accused of incentivising inappropriate use, and provoking complaints, by significantly reducing the price of this product.”
“The price of out EHC offering over the counter is in line with that suggested by the manufacturers and we regularly review our pricing strategy”, Mr Donovan said. “We do not propose to change the price at this current time, Mr Donovan said.”
In the UK, Tesco and Superdrug have both reduced the cost of the pill by half to around about £13, following the BPAS campaign. Last year an investigation by The Times found that pharmacists were charging between €18 and €35 for the pill in Ireland, while smaller, independent pharmacies were more likely to offer a lower price.
A spokeswoman for Boots Ireland said it was the first pharmacy to sell emergency contraception over the counter in Ireland in 2011. “This comprehensive, professional service is designed to support women requiring timely access to appropriate care and is provided by a Boots pharmacist as part of a consultation which takes place in a private consultation room,” she said.
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BPAS, a charity which also runs abortion clinics, said that it believed the high cost of the pill was because pharmacies believed it would deter women from using it too often.
“Emergency contraception provides women with a crucial second chance to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Given the obstacles some women face accessing regular family planning methods and the near total ban on ending a pregnancy in Ireland, obtaining emergency contraception may mean a woman does not have to choose between finding the funds to get to England for an abortion or having a baby,” a spokeswoman for BPAS said.
The charity argued that for emergency contraception to be truly accessible, the major high street retailers must follow suit.