Great stuff from the positive, ideas/issues-based, strongly pro-choice Tom Perriello for Governor campaign. Go Tom!
Tom Perriello Proposes Pharmacist and Clinician Prescribed Contraception in New Policy Announcement
Perriello Calls for Legislation Expanding Access to Contraception for Women Across Virginia
Tom Perriello, Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, unveiled a new policy proposal on Monday aimed at reforming the overly convoluted regulations currently governing women’s access to birth control in the Commonwealth. The plan would enable pharmacists and some nurses to dispense birth control at pharmacies and women’s health clinics, ensuring more accessibility for every Virginia woman. Seven states and the District of Columbia have already passed laws expanding contraception prescribing abilities to pharmacists, and Plan B is currently and properly available without a prescription.
The announcement follows Tom being the first and only candidate to propose a constitutional amendment to guarantee a woman’s right to choose at the state level, which would help safeguard reproductive choice in Virginia against a U.S. Supreme Court increasingly hostile to Roe. These proposals are emblematic of Tom’s firm commitment to protecting women’s rights and expanding women’s access to quality health care in the Commonwealth.
“It’s common sense that a woman should be able to walk into her local pharmacy or women’s health clinic and walk out with contraception,” Tom Perriello wrote in a new Medium post. “Removing the requirement that women obtain birth control prescriptions from a doctor will reduce barriers, costs, and inconveniences associated with routine contraception access.”
These barriers impact women throughout the Commonwealth but are particularly harmful to women in rural and underserved areas.
“Reproductive justice is an essential element of leveling the playing field for women in a society where subjugation has been the status quo for centuries,” Perriello continued. “It’s past time to break down outdated, moralistic barriers to gender equality and trust women to make their own health choices with autonomy, affordability, access, and dignity.”
As the Trump administration’s assault on health care continues, Tom recognizes that it is more important than ever not just to protect but to expand women’s access to health care. In addition to this proposal, Tom will fight to expand Medicaid and ensure women’s health clinics have the funding they need to provide essential services.
Further details on Tom’s plan can be viewed on Medium here.
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