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Republican Knute Buehler, who ran against Kate Brown for secretary of state, concedes the race in November 2012. Now in the state Legislature, Buehler has proposed to allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives.
(Doug Beghtel/Staff)
Knute Buehler is a Republican member of a legislative body dominated so thoroughly by Democrats that his caucus may be an election or two away from earning a spot on the Endangered Species List. He's also a newbie, having won the privilege of representing Bend's 54th district only last fall. Think of him as a skinny guy on Salem's muscle beach.
Yet his "Free the Pill" proposal is elbowing its way toward passage. It survived a setback in committee and a diversion to a work group to re-emerge this week through a legislative maneuver known as a "gut and stuff," in which a bill is hollowed out and filled with tangentially related language. Such, it seems, is the power of a good idea - in this case that a physician's prescription shouldn't stand between women and oral contraceptives.
Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon, sits appropriately on the House Committee on Health Care, which in April declined to attach his contraceptive amendment to an otherwise unremarkable bill expanding the authority of pharmacists. The setback did not reflect opposition to the idea from the panel's Democratic leadership. To the contrary, committee chair Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, spoke glowingly of the proposal and assembled a bipartisan work group to kick the tires with the expectation of bringing it out of the garage in 2016.
Buehler held out hope that the proposal might be revived during the current session, and so it has. The House Rules Committee on Wednesday agreed unanimously to use House Bill 2879 as a host for Buehler's proposal, to be followed by a committee work session and, ultimately, passage. Buehler may be a newbie and a political minority, but the majority party, to its credit, has recognized the worth of his proposal and, to this point, lent suitable support.
As amended, HB 2879 would allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives - patch or pill - to people of any age. Recipients under the age of 18, however, must produce evidence of a previous prescription from a primary care provider. The bill includes a handful of protective measures, including a requirement that participating pharmacists complete a training program. Those seeking contraceptives, meanwhile, must take a self-screening risk assessment.
The gutting-and-stuffing occurred Wednesday without objection, and among those who testified in support was Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, who is, like Buehler, a physician and a member of the work group. So, too, is Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Eugene, who conveniently chairs the Rules committee. This proposal deserves a smooth trip through the House and Senate, and such bipartisan support provides cause for optimism.
The bill allows women to procure contraceptives without taking what health-care experts consider an unnecessary trip to a practitioner for a prescription. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) argues that contraceptives should be even easier to procure than HB2879 would make them. However, over-the-counter access (think aspirin) would require federal action. Barring that, allowing pharmacists to serve as willing gatekeepers is reasonable.
Increasing access to medications of any kind necessarily increases related risks. In its position statement on contraceptive access, however, ACOG notes that self-screening for potential problems works just fine. The group also points out that becoming pregnant - which tends to happen unintentionally without ready access to contraceptives - is far riskier. The role of expanding contraceptive access in reducing unwanted pregnancies is echoed by the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians, which submitted a statement in support of Buehler's proposal Wednesday.
Buehler's proposal has created a refreshing opportunity for bipartisan agreement during a session that has been unusually bitter and partisan. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should see that they finish the job by passing the bill.