CHENNAI: Anyone with a feminist lens — and many with an anti-feminist lens, too — in Tamil Nadu knows a shadow ban on emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) has been in place here for a long time, possibly ever since they became over-the-counter drugs in India in 2005. While they are technically not illegal, it’s extremely difficult to source them.
Only a handful of pharmacies clandestinely stock them, and timely access is far from assured (they must be consumed within specific time windows: usually within 72 hours of intercourse, depending on the drug). Last year, the Tamil Nadu government made a recommendation for an outright ban on over-the-counter sales of ECPs.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has reportedly since been considering this on an even larger scale. If implemented, there could be a formal, nationwide ban on the sale of all hormonal contraceptive medication without a prescription.
The CDSCO has since put out a statement that there is neither a proposal nor any move to make these drugs prescription-only, and central government officials have told the press that the matter of ECPs remains “status quo”. Other reports state that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) plans to relax sales protocols for these medications through changes to labelling, not tighten them.
However, there are two concerns. The status quo itself is problematic — in Tamil Nadu, at least. Secondly, reproductive rights activists with on-the-ground information are not necessarily convinced. Activist Archanaa Sekar, who has worked on the ECP issue for many years and provided critical interventions where necessary, tells me, “The details of the ban are still murky. TN has initiated a sub-committee to make recommendations but details of the committee or of the recommendations are not in the public domain.”
If the central government is serious about making ECPs and other hormonal contraceptives more easily available across India, it will not be enough to do so only on paper. The issue of shadow bans needs to be addressed. In Tamil Nadu, this shadow ban has been upheld equally by societal norms as well as by a succession of state governments.
While public demand is substantial, public pressure against the shadow ban is non-existent. Whether or not an actual, on-the-books ban on sales — or even an actual, on-the-books requirement for prescriptions — exists, lack of access affects and even endangers many people.
Reproductive freedom is a fundamental human right, and one of the tenets of any progressive system. Tamil Nadu likes to take pride in being seen as one of India’s most progressive states.
All denial of reproductive access is rooted in misogyny, and can potentially ruin lives. When one considers the data that young adults use ECPs most of all, deprivation of such medication is deliberately cruel towards those with already limited agency.
Even requiring a prescription can be an insurmountable setback, given the rampant sex-negativity of Indian doctors. People cannot be called irresponsible if they live in a culture of enormous stigmas around sexuality, and have never been armed with sex education and enough choices to begin with — including the freedom to make mistakes that harm no one else, and to not be disproportionately punished for them.