Birth control will be available in New Jersey without a prescription next year

Birth control will be available over the counter in New Jersey in a few months.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation making it possible at the beginning of the year, but the process was bogged down on the procedural side of things.

Before the new law could take effect, the State Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Pharmacy had to write and pass rules on how it would work.

That was done this week. Now birth control will be available over the counter and pharmacists will have training to provide counseling and screenings for those interested in pills, patches and rings without a prescription.

This will start next year at participating pharmacies where staff has been appropriately trained. There are no residency requirements for access.

“New Jersey is a state that continues to stand for the fundamental right to make one’s own reproductive choices,” Murphy said in a statement. “No matter what steps other states may take to restrict access to reproductive health care, New Jersey will never stop fighting to defend these freedoms.”

Another rule proposal that was advanced recently will establish the regulatory framework for certified nurse midwives and certified midwives to perform first trimester abortions, expanding the pool of providers able to offer the service.

The state is also providing $30 million in funding for family planning services as well as $5 million for security upgrades grants and $10 million to provide reproductive health care providers for facility upgrades. The deadline to apply for those grants is Oct. 31.

“Since women are often juggling the demands of jobs and family responsibilities, going through the hassle, time, and expense of seeing a doctor for a birth control prescription can be challenging,” state Sen. Shirley Turner said. “Removing this barrier to contraceptives will help to make them more accessible to all women.”

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Turner sponsored the law in the Legislature and has been championing the measure for nearly a decade.

The Murphy administration has taken several preemptive steps to ensure reproductive care acccess in the wake of the federal Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and removed federal reproductive health protections that had been in place for generations.

Measures have been taken throughout the country to codify protections, but New Jersey legislators have taken it even further by prohibiting people who receive or perform an abortion in New Jersey from being extradited to a state that restricts or criminalizes the procedure and even barring public agencies in New Jersey from providing information to help in investigations by states that criminalize abortion.

They’ve also expanded access by requiring companies regulated by the state’s Department of Banking and Insurance provide comprehensive abortion coverage as a part of all health benefit plans.

Most people get their coverage through federally regulated insurance provided through their employers. State-regulated plans include those offered to state workers.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Birth control in NJ available over-the-counter in 2024