skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New Mexico Pharmacists to Fill Birth Control Prescriptions

play audio
Play

Monday, March 12, 2018   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Individual training begins next week for New Mexico pharmacists who want to prescribe and provide birth control to women. The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy approved the new rule last year allowing pharmacists who complete nine hours of training to provide the service.

Lauren Thaxton with the University of New Mexico was one of the physicians who worked on developing the training and protocol. She said many women in New Mexico often have to travel long distances to get medical care.

"We're a very rural state. In addition, we have a huge physician shortage in the state,” Thaxton said. “And so, I think this totally fits in with trying to meet the needs of patients in the best, safest way possible."

Once training is complete, New Mexico will join California, Colorado and Oregon as states that allow pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptives. Prior to implementation, some expressed concerns about the safety of providing hormonal contraception without physical exams.

But Thaxton said the risk from hormonal contraceptives is generally outweighed by the benefits, and they are considered safe for most women. She noted that women will need to complete a health history questionnaire and have their blood pressure taken at the pharmacy before a pharmacist can determine which methods of birth control are safe.

"This, in other states as well as in New Mexico, is something that we're continuing to study and learn more about as we do it,” she said. “What we're finding is that it's a service that women want. It's a service that women can safely engage in."

Thaxton said easier availability of birth control may help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in New Mexico - which accounted for 47 percent of all pregnancies in 2012, compared with 53 percent of women giving birth who indicated the pregnancy was intentional.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021