Remember when Boots promised to slash the morning after pill price? Well it STILL hasn’t
BOOTS has FAILED to drop the price of the morning after pill in over 2,400 of it stores even though it promised to slash costs.
The pharmacy giant is still selling the emergency contraceptive for around £26 a pill in almost all of it's branches, despite saying it would cut the price by October this year.
Boots promised to lower the price of the pill in July after it was accused of selling the contraceptive for more than double its competitors.
At first, Boots said that it wouldn't cut costs because it wanted to avoid "provoking" more complaints from moral objectors.
Shortly after, they backtracked and announced that they would look at sourcing cheaper brands of the pill, which they hoped to be "able to offer all stores in October 2017".
Boots has made the pill available for £15.99 in 38 stores since August and that has now gone up to 69.
But campaigners and MPs are furious that it has failed to roll out the prices to all of its 2,500 shops nationwide.
Labour MPs are calling for clearer action from the pharmacy, now that the October deadline has passed.
In a letter addressed to Boots' director, Elizabeth Fagan, the MPs said that they are "dismayed" how Boots have "failed to live up to this clear commitment to women".
The 130 Labour MPs who signed the letter say that access to emergency contraception in December and January is of "even greater importance" because women struggle to get hold of their normal contraceptives over the Christmas period.
According to reports from campaign group British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) the number of women facing unplanned pregnancy increases after Christmas.
Well-known campaigners Jess Phillips, Stella Creasy and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbot are among the MPs who signed the letter.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's name is not on the list.
Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Public Health, who wrote the letter described Boots' progress as "a drop in the ocean with a long way to go".
She said: "It is crucial that Boots get their act together and roll out this cheaper emergency contraception as promised earlier in the year."
BPAS successfully led a campaign earlier this year to get retailers to offer cheaper emergency contraception. Now, Superdrug and Tesco charge £13.50.
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Boots was the only major retailer who refused to drop prices.
At the end of October, the pharmacy put the delay down to "supply chain delays" but the BPA said they "simply cannot understand" how the company isn't able to offer cheaper prices when their competitors can.
Whilst the company sort out the "delays", the MPs are calling on Boots – known for its “here come the girls” adverts – to lower the price of the EHC they currently stock in the meantime.
A spokesperson for Boots told the Sun Online: ";We remain committed to rolling this service out nationally.
"Unfortunately the manufacturer has experienced a batch failure due to quality issues which means that the stock we were expecting is not now available, and we are now waiting for a new batch to be produced.
"We thank our customers for their continued patience and reassure them that we are doing all we can to roll this service out to all our stores as soon as possible."
They added: "We remain committed to increasing accessibility of EHC for women, and we firmly believe in the right of all women to access these services with ease and convenience"
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