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RESTRICTING REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
The New Indian Express
|October 17, 2024
ANYONE with a feminist lens - and many with an anti-feminist lens, too - in Tamil Nadu knows a shadow ban on emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) has been in place here for a long time, possibly ever since they became over-the-counter drugs in India in 2005.
While they are technically not illegal, it's extremely difficult to source them. Only a handful of pharmacies clandestinely stock them, and timely access is far from assured (they must be consumed within specific time windows: usually within 72 hours of intercourse, depending on the drug).
Last year, the Tamil Nadu government made a recommendation for an outright ban on over-the-counter sales of ECPs. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has reportedly since been considering this on an even larger scale. If implemented, there could be a formal, nationwide ban on the sale of all hormonal contraceptive medication without a prescription.
This story is from the October 17, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
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