Planned Parenthood is now offering online birth control consultations in Washington state and Minnesota, making access to birth control that much easier. The online and mobile app consultations, which will be held via video chat, will cost $45 and last 15 minutes. As of now, consultations can only be used to get prescriptions for birth control, but STI consultations will be available in October. In many cases, the prescribed birth control or medication can be sent directly to the patients via mail-order.
The project, which launched last week, is still in its pilot phrase, but there is hope that it will eventually spread to other states. Location and cost are two major barriers for women seeking birth control, and court decisions such as Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby only create more hoops to jump through.
Planned Parenthood, however, has always been on the forefront of access. Margaret Sanger is credited with opening the first carnation of Planned Parenthood in 1916 as the American Birth Control League. Mobile App BC may be big news now, but with legislation changing every day to discourage and eliminate reproductive autonomy, it seems like online services will be in high demand.
Appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week in Minnesota, and Monday to Friday in Washington. If you’re in another state and unsure of your options, you can still chat with an online health educator. A link can be found at the bottom of the page.
Should all else fail, there will always be Our Bodies, Ourselves.
Photos via Planned Parenthood.
