Native American women and the need for over-the-counter access to birth control pills
Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center. Native American women and the need for over-the-counter access to birth control pills. Roundtable Report Native American Women's Prespective to Over-the-Counter (OTC) Oral Contraceptives. June 2019.
The Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) is a project of the Native American Community Board (NACB), based on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in Lake Andes, South Dakota, that has been serving Indigenous women and families for more than 32 years. It is headquartered in the Resource Center, which provides direct services to the surrounding communities and works on policy issues that improve the health and wellbeing of Native women and their families.
The Oral Contraceptives (OCs) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Working Group is committed to making the birth control pill available over the counter to reduce disparities in reproductive health care access and outcomes, and to increase access to safe, effective contraception, free of unnecessary control, as part of a healthy sexual and reproductive life. NAWHERC has been participating in the OCs OTC Working Group since 2016.
NAWHERC has worked with the national Free the Pill movement to create an educational campaign tailored to Native women and girls, with a plan to roll out activities along with the national coalition. By hosting talking circles with Native women in the “bellwether” states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and South Dakota, NAWHERC takes direction from the women in the communities most impacted by restrictive policies. Utilizing a traditional and confidential process, NAWHERC identifies the issues and gaps Native women face in accessing health care and turns them into helpful policies.