Background: Alabama's Human Life Protection Act (the Act) signed in 2019 became law in 2022, making provision of abortion a felony offense.
Objective: In 2020, we assessed the accessibility of emergency contraception (EC) pills in Birmingham, Alabama prior to the Act's enactment given the probable increased need for EC access due to abortion criminalization.
Study design: Pharmacy staff were asked about availability, price, location, and identification requirements to obtain EC.
Results: Of 69 pharmacies, 59% had levonorgestrel EC and none had ulipristal acetate EC available.
Conclusion: There are persistent barriers to EC accessibility that should be addressed as abortion is increasingly restricted.
Keywords: Abortion; Contraceptives; Levonorgestrel; Postcoital; Ulipristal acetate.
Published by Elsevier Inc.