well as of this week pharmacies in New Jersey are now allowed to sell hormonal birth control without a prescription making the state one of roughly 30 in the country where you can get the contraception over the counter the new rules are based on a law Governor Murphy signed in 20123 allowing pharmacists to dispense birth control pills patches and diaphragms among others but a senior correspondent R of Flanigan reports don't expect to find a participating Pharmacy right away those who opt in will have a few Hoops to jump through first need birth control you've got a lot more options now in New Jersey where drugstores can offer you contraceptive pills Rings patches and injectables no prescription needed and no visit required to see a doctor first but there is a safety check we need to make sure that that people are not just blindly taking these kind of medications without because there are risk factors involved y Sha of Hudson drug says first time clients will get question by specially trained pharmacists who will do mandatory health screening looking for possible risks if they have any risk of cancer if they're taking any medications that may interfere with these types of medications for example if they're currently uh taking an antibiotic antibiotics can do decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills so we will tell them to use maybe a secondary form of of contraception I'm really excited that people won't have to wait for appointments like potentially delaying their ability to access Care by being able to go to their local pharmacy talk to their pharmacist get screen there and be able to get the medication right then and there Dr Christen Brandy says patients have been able to buy the FDA approved oill over the counter since March but that birth control method uses progesterone only now New Jersey is joining more than 20 other states offering pills that also include estrogen plus other self-administered options the CDC says almost half of us pregnancies are unintended that motivated Senator Shirley turn to sponsor this bill by the time you get an appointment with a doctor they could be pregnant or pregnant again with another child so this is groundbreaking for women and the more we can eliminate these barriers to contraception the better Our Lives will be the state division of Consumer Affairs is working on a website that will list pharmacies that offer self-administered birth control without a prescription but it's going to take some time to get the pharmacists trained and ready CBS supports the law Walgreen says it's looking into it meanwhile birth control suddenly headlined presidential campaign news when former president Donald Trump told CBS affiliate KDKA in Pennsylvania that like abortion it should be up to the States you know things really do have a lot to do with the states and some states are going to have different policies than others but I'm coming out within a week or so with a very comprehensive policy Trump reversed himself after the comment provoked a furious backlash saying he'd never restrict birth control and blamed quote a Democrat fabricated lie but it reverberated in New Jersey a so-called Sanctuary state for Reproductive Rights in a post dobs landscape it's a great threat to women and I think that has been demonstrated in many states when they had put the issue on the ballot right now we have great laws but there's always a chance of something like a federal ban that could prevent our care in our state New Jersey's no prescription birth control law doesn't have an age restriction available products won't include diaphragm since those need to be fitted at a clinic products will become more available as more pharmacists take the 4-Hour online training course for now Advocates advise Jersey residents to call ahead before going to their local pharmacy in creskill I'm Brenda Flanigan and J spot light news support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent lense of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association [Music]