'The pharmacist said it would give the wrong message': The young women denied the morning-after pill

It is legal for pharmacists to refuse to provide the morning-after pill for religious reasons, but these women say they were refused for no reason, with no alternative given

“The condom had broken.

“We panicked. We were only 17. We went to the pharmacy as quickly as possible.

“I felt my stomach drop as I walked in. This was the first and only time I’ve ever needed the morning-after pill. I was about to tell a stranger intimate details about my sex life – and I wanted to make sure they knew that, even though we were young, the sex was completely consensual. I took a deep breath as I phrased the question in my mind, ready to say it out loud: 'Could I get the the morning-after pill?'.”

Emma, now 20, from Edinburgh, went to the pharmacy as soon as possible – the morning after the condom mishap. She expected to be given emergency contraception quickly and easily – after all, the morning-after pill has been available over the counter in the UK for almost two decades.

How easy it is to access, though, depends on where you get it (from a pharmacy, or your GP or a GUM clinic, for example), as some places charge for it while others dispense it for free. The NHS advises, external that “some” pharmacies give it out for free, and suggests contacting one near you to find out if they do this.

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. There is some inconsistency across the UK as to how much emergency contraception costs, and the service women and others who need it receive.

Although the morning-after pill is commissioned in England – meaning the NHS meets the cost of supplying it – it costs up to £35, a cost the RCOG says is prohibitive for some women, external. Mystery shoppers who attempted to get the morning-after pill for the RCOG's report found that 10% of their pharmacy visits were “poor and unprofessional”.

There have been cases where pharmacists have refused to give out the morning-after pill because of their religious beliefs – on these occasions, they should still ensure the person can access the care they need. The General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPC) guidance, external, which was released in 2017, says: “If a pharmacy professional is unwilling to provide a certain service, they should take steps to make sure the person asking for care is at the centre of their decision-making, so they can access the service they need in a timely manner and without hindrance”. In practice, this usually means referring them to a colleague who can help.

“The pharmacist told me she didn’t feel comfortable prescribing it to me,” says Emma. “She felt that by prescribing the morning-after pill to a teenager, it might convey the wrong kind of message. She was worried it would encourage me to continue having unprotected sex without thinking about the repercussions.”

Emma says the pharmacist told her that “just as I was allowed to ask for it, she was entitled to deny it”. She was sent away from the pharmacy, so Emma tried another branch, and was given the pill without any issues.

“The situation angered me a lot. I was legally old enough to make my own decisions about sex, and I had every right to seek out emergency contraception,” she says. “It annoyed me that she assumed I was being irresponsible, when in reality it was just a mistake, something that can – and does – happen to anyone. Denying someone that level of autonomy, particularly a teenage girl, is dangerous.”

As a result, Emma says she’s become less confident with her sexuality. “Moments like that, where sex is treated like a dirty secret, really stigmatised it for me,” she explains.

BBC Three reached out to the GPC for comment. It said: “Pharmacists have to consider these factors in each individual situation. The guidance outlines the questions they would have to ask themselves and the actions they would be expected to take. This is a very complex area.”

The guidance also says customers in the pharmacy should be treated “as individuals, fairly and with respect”. Pharmacists’ personal opinions on people who ask for the morning-after pill shouldn’t be voiced.

“I’d never had to take the morning-after pill before, and I’m quite bad with taking my regular pill. I know you’re meant to take it every day, but if I’ve been working or whatever… I often just forget,” says 18-year-old Jenna, from Sheffield.

“I slept with a boy after a few days of forgetting to take it. This wasn’t planned, it was completely spontaneous. It was playing on my mind, so I did look online the next day just to see if I needed the morning-after pill. The NHS website says, external you’re supposed to seek emergency contraception if you’ve skipped a few days of the daily pill. I also spoke to my friend and she told me to go to the pharmacy anyway.”

Jenna went to a supermarket pharmacy and was taken into a consultation room. The pharmacist asked what she needed the morning-after pill for, and she explained that she’d missed a few days of regular contraception and didn’t want to take the risk.

“He basically dismissed me, telling me I’d probably be fine,” she recalls. “I told him that I’d done my research and I wanted to be prepared, I was more than happy to pay for it! He just kept telling me I’d be fine, nothing else. Then he told me to go about the rest of my day.”

Jenna went to a different pharmacy later that day, and was given the morning-after pill with no issues. She told the pharmacist there about the incident in the supermarket, and was told that pharmacists are entitled to refuse to give emergency contraception if it goes against their morals.

“That might’ve been what happened,” she says. “But it really knocked my confidence. Thankfully, I’ve not needed emergency contraception since. Next time I’d steer clear from supermarket pharmacies altogether. I’d rather go to a clinic, or even a hospital.”

In a statement, the Faculty of Sexual Health and Reproductive Healthcare said: “We recognise that a diversity of views exist among sexual and reproductive healthcare professionals. However, what is best for the patient must always be at the centre of decision-making.

“For this reason, if a healthcare professional chooses not to prescribe emergency contraception because of personal beliefs, they must ensure that arrangements are made for a prescription to be issued by a colleague without delay.

“Importantly, these arrangements must not, in any way, suggest a moral judgement about the patient.”

Names have been changed.

This article was amended on 24/09/21 to attribute the closing statement to the Faculty of Sexual Health and Reproductive Healthcare. A previous version wrongly attributed it to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.