“Over-the-counter hormonal contraception at Texas pharmacies: Assessing Opill® and Emergency Contraception Access,” a new research brief from Resound Research for Reproductive Health, examines the availability, accessibility, and affordability of over-the-counter contraceptives in Texas pharmacies, including both Opill® and emergency contraceptives.
Over-the-counter contraceptive options could expand access to reproductive healthcare, particularly for those facing barriers to clinic-based services, such as limited provider availability, transport issues, work schedules or lack of insurance coverage. However, this depends not only on policy changes, but also on whether these products are consistently available and easy to find in pharmacies.
To better understand how these methods are made available in practice, researchers conducted an in-person study across 192 pharmacies in Texas. During these visits, researchers assessed several factors that influence whether people can realistically obtain these products, including:
- Whether emergency contraception and Opill® were carried in the store and in stock
- How easy the products were to purchase within the store
- the price range consumers would encounter at the pharmacy.
The findings highlight how pharmacy stocking practices, product placement and pricing can affect access to contraception in the real world. Even when methods are legally available over the counter, barriers such as limited availability, unclear product placement, or high prices can prevent people from obtaining them when needed.
Understanding how over-the-counter contraceptives are distributed and presented in retail settings is an important step in evaluating whether these methods can meaningfully expand access to reproductive healthcare.
Read the full research brief to learn more about the findings and their implications for contraceptive access.
https://resoundrh.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ResoundRH-2026-Opill-EC.pdf