Utah OKs pharmacy-direct birth control

SALT LAKE CITY — Women in Utah will soon be able to get birth control directly from a pharmacist rather than having to visit a doctor each time they want to obtain or renew a prescription.

On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed a measure into law allowing those 18 and older to get pills, the patch and some other contraceptive devices, putting Utah in line with a handful of other states that have passed similar laws, including California, Colorado and Oregon.

“I think five years ago, it wouldn’t have passed, but I think the world and Utah is changing,” Republican state Sen. Todd Weiler, who sponsored the measure, said Wednesday. “People are more accepting of the fact that these things make sense and they actually save the state money.”

An estimated 60 percent of residents are members of the Mormon church, which generally opposes abortion but treats birth control as a private matter between a husband and wife.

The new law, which unanimously passed the Legislature, takes effect May 8.

AP/ELAINE THOMPSON People walk past cherry blossoms Tuesday, the first day of spring, that are bursting forth from 80-year-old trees at the University of Washington in Seattle.