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No prescription? No problem. New health department order will make it easier for Utah women to access birth control.

Going forward, Utah women will no longer need a prescription to pick up birth-control pills and other contraceptives from their pharmacies, a change meant to reduce unwanted pregnancies in the state.

Scrapping the blanket requirement for a prescription will hopefully lower costs for women and clear away other barriers to family planning, state health officials say.

“At times, a woman knows what she wants but may have a high-deductible plan so that even going back to the doctor costs another 100 or 120 bucks,” said Rep. Raymond Ward, R-Bountiful, a physician who helped sponsor the 2018 legislation that enabled the change.