Abortion rates have dropped again in Colorado, and health authorities are crediting increased access to birth control statewide.

Pharmacists have written thousands of prescriptions for the birth control pill since 2017, when Colorado became only the third state in the nation to allow women to get prescriptions for oral contraceptives at the pharmacy instead of only from a doctor.

State and federal dollars are funding free and low-cost IUDs — intrauterine devices that prevent pregnancy for five years or more — for low-income women and teens who visit community health clinics across the state.

Another contributing factor: the so-called morning-after pill has been available over the counter at Colorado pharmacies since 2013.

Source: Colorado Sun