Conservative Utah lets women get birth control from pharmacy

SALT LAKE CITY — Women in conservative Utah will soon be able to get birth control directly from a pharmacist rather than visiting a doctor each time they want to obtain or renew a prescription, a move taken by only a few other states, many of them liberal.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed a measure into law Tuesday 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.”

Public health officials say studies have shown that unplanned births can lead to more money being spent on social programs like Medicaid, which covers the costs of about one-third of all births in the state.

Utah is a Republicandominated state where most lawmakers and an estimated 60 percent of residents are members of the Mormon church. While the church generally opposes abortion, birth control is treated differently.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages married couples to have children but says specific birth control decisions are private between a husband and wife. While the church is against elective abortions, there are some circumstances where it can be permissible.