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| Boots cuts price of morning-after pill after weeks of controversy | Boots cuts price of morning-after pill after weeks of controversy |
| (13 days later) | |
| Boots has cut the price of emergency contraception weeks after it sparked outrage by refusing to do so in case it encouraged women to have sex. | Boots has cut the price of emergency contraception weeks after it sparked outrage by refusing to do so in case it encouraged women to have sex. |
| The high street chemist announced on Thursday that it had started to sell a new, cheaper generic version of the morning-after pill in 38 of its stores and would make it available in all 2,500 by October. | The high street chemist announced on Thursday that it had started to sell a new, cheaper generic version of the morning-after pill in 38 of its stores and would make it available in all 2,500 by October. |
| “We have listened to our customers’ feedback and we committed to sourcing a less expensive emergency hormonal contraceptive to enable us to make a privately funded EHC service more accessible in the future,” Boots said. | “We have listened to our customers’ feedback and we committed to sourcing a less expensive emergency hormonal contraceptive to enable us to make a privately funded EHC service more accessible in the future,” Boots said. |
| “We can confirm that four weeks ago we started the rollout of this service to 38 stores and have been offering it with a new, less expensive generic version of EHC (Levonorgestrel) at a cost of £15.99, which reflects the cost of the medicine and the regulated mandatory consultation with the pharmacist.” | “We can confirm that four weeks ago we started the rollout of this service to 38 stores and have been offering it with a new, less expensive generic version of EHC (Levonorgestrel) at a cost of £15.99, which reflects the cost of the medicine and the regulated mandatory consultation with the pharmacist.” |
| Even at £15.99, it is still £2.49 more expensive than the £13.50 that competitor pharmacies – including Superdrug, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda – recently cut their price to. | Even at £15.99, it is still £2.49 more expensive than the £13.50 that competitor pharmacies – including Superdrug, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda – recently cut their price to. |
| Boots’s partial climbdown comes after Labour MPs, the former Conservative minister Anna Soubry and sexual health campaigners heavily criticised its refusal in July to drop the price of the two other versions of EHC it sells. It charges £28.25 for Levonelle and £26.75 for its own generic version. | Boots’s partial climbdown comes after Labour MPs, the former Conservative minister Anna Soubry and sexual health campaigners heavily criticised its refusal in July to drop the price of the two other versions of EHC it sells. It charges £28.25 for Levonelle and £26.75 for its own generic version. |
| Its new statement announced the arrival of the £15.99 contraceptive but did not say if it was dropping the price of its two existing options. It will continue to offer several EHC products “to ensure we can provide a range of solutions that are right depending on a woman’s individual circumstances and according to the guidance from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare”, it said. | Its new statement announced the arrival of the £15.99 contraceptive but did not say if it was dropping the price of its two existing options. It will continue to offer several EHC products “to ensure we can provide a range of solutions that are right depending on a woman’s individual circumstances and according to the guidance from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare”, it said. |
| In July, Boots defended its refusal to charge less for EHC by saying that doing so would leave it open to being accused of “incentivising inappropriate use”. | In July, Boots defended its refusal to charge less for EHC by saying that doing so would leave it open to being accused of “incentivising inappropriate use”. |
| Female Labour MPs wrote to the firm accusing it of charging so much for EHC that women could not afford it. | Female Labour MPs wrote to the firm accusing it of charging so much for EHC that women could not afford it. |
| “It is completely unacceptable that British women have been paying up to £30 for a pill that costs a fraction of that to produce,” said the letter, signed by Jess Phillips – the chair of the women’s parliamentary Labour party – as well as senior figures including Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper. “The high cost of emergency contraception at Boots is preventing women from accessing it when needed.” | “It is completely unacceptable that British women have been paying up to £30 for a pill that costs a fraction of that to produce,” said the letter, signed by Jess Phillips – the chair of the women’s parliamentary Labour party – as well as senior figures including Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper. “The high cost of emergency contraception at Boots is preventing women from accessing it when needed.” |
| It also emerged on Thursday that Boots had issued the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a charity that advises women on their reproductive health, with two legal threats over its campaign for the firm to reduce its prices for the pills. | It also emerged on Thursday that Boots had issued the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a charity that advises women on their reproductive health, with two legal threats over its campaign for the firm to reduce its prices for the pills. |
| It hired Schillings, the London law firm used by many celebrities, to write to the BPAS accusing it of harassing senior executives by running a campaign that encouraged those opposed to Boots’s behaviour to contact them. | It hired Schillings, the London law firm used by many celebrities, to write to the BPAS accusing it of harassing senior executives by running a campaign that encouraged those opposed to Boots’s behaviour to contact them. |
| The charity said that“people writing to Boots senior executives through the BPAS campaign for more affordable contraception included women who needed to use EC [emergency contraception] in a range of circumstances, from being the victim of sexual assault to having missed a pill, as well as pharmacists, GPs and other healthcare professionals who had seen women with unwanted pregnancies s a result of struggling to access EC, and also lifelong customers.” | The charity said that“people writing to Boots senior executives through the BPAS campaign for more affordable contraception included women who needed to use EC [emergency contraception] in a range of circumstances, from being the victim of sexual assault to having missed a pill, as well as pharmacists, GPs and other healthcare professionals who had seen women with unwanted pregnancies s a result of struggling to access EC, and also lifelong customers.” |
| Clare Murphy, BPAS’s director of external affairs, said: “We are pleased to see that in future Boots will be providing a cheaper emergency contraceptive product across its stores nationally. We are extremely saddened that Boots feels the need to resort to legal warnings against a charity representing the concerns of women in the process.” | Clare Murphy, BPAS’s director of external affairs, said: “We are pleased to see that in future Boots will be providing a cheaper emergency contraceptive product across its stores nationally. We are extremely saddened that Boots feels the need to resort to legal warnings against a charity representing the concerns of women in the process.” |
| The charity denied that emails sent to Boots were abusive, tweeting that they were “overwhelmingly polite”. | The charity denied that emails sent to Boots were abusive, tweeting that they were “overwhelmingly polite”. |
| The emails our supporters sent to Boots were not abuse. They were overwhelmingly polite, thoughtful - and persuasive. Thank you. #JustSayNon pic.twitter.com/0XOKcztDxF | The emails our supporters sent to Boots were not abuse. They were overwhelmingly polite, thoughtful - and persuasive. Thank you. #JustSayNon pic.twitter.com/0XOKcztDxF |
| Boots has also renewed its call for the NHS in England to make emergency contraception available to women who need it, as the health service in Scotland and Wales already does. | Boots has also renewed its call for the NHS in England to make emergency contraception available to women who need it, as the health service in Scotland and Wales already does. |
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