Choice Ireland

Choice Ireland has today welcomed the decision by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) to approve the emergency contraceptive pill NorLevo for sale without a prescription.

This follows intensive campaigning by the voluntary group for over-the-counter access and last month's announcement by the Boots chain that its pharmacists would begin dispensing the morning-after pill.

Commenting, spokesperson Sinéad Ahern said:

"The IMB's decision should greatly increase Irish women's ability to obtain access to emergency contraception within the crucial time frame. While we welcomed the step already taken by Boots, the high cost being charged in their pharmacies and their limited number of locations still posed significant obstacles for many women. We hope that those obstacles will now be broken down and that Irish women will have the same access to this safe and effective medication as women in most other European countries.

"This is a victory not only in the campaign to prevent crisis pregnancies but for the fundamental right of women to the tools they need to make their own reproductive choices." ENDS