Boots has apologised over its response to lowering the price of its emergency contraception.
The retailer had been asked to drop the surcharges on its emergency contraception by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
Boots currently charge £28.25 for Levonelle emergency contraceptive and £26.75 for its own version.
Superdrug and Tesco had both reduced the cost of their contraceptives to £13.50 – half the price charged in Boots stores – after BPAS also asked them to review their pricing and offer women a more affordable product.
Boots had originally refused to lower the cost, believing that it would mean complaints from those who oppose women using emergency contraception.
The retailer is now looking for cheaper alternatives to the Levonelle brand.
A Boots spokesperson said, “Pharmacy and care for customers are at the heart of everything we do, and as such we are truly sorry that our poor choice of words in describing our position on emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) has caused offence and misunderstanding, and we sincerely apologise.”
Supporting the decision, Claire Murphy, Director of External Affairs, BPAS said, “We really welcome this apology from Boots and are delighted that they are committed to lowering the cost of emergency contraception.”
“We look forward to learning what the next steps will be and the timeframe for these changes.”
“As other retailers have been able to introduce a price reduction across their stores we hope Boots will act promptly to ensure women have affordable access to this back-up method of contraception, which gives women a crucial second chance of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.”
