Boots has apologised for the way it responded to a campaign calling for it to reduce the price of emergency contraception, which it sells for almost £30 per pill.
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Boots has apologised after saying women might 'misuse' morning after pill if it cut the price
Boots told the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) that making it cheaper may mean it is 'misused or overused'.
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The high street chemist was criticised after refusing to cut the cost of the morning-after pill. It told the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) this week that making emergency contraception cheaper may mean it is "misused or overused".
The apology, made late on Friday night, came after the women's parliamentary Labour party (PLP) had written to Boots' chief pharmacist to express "deep concern" about the company's refusal to lower the price of emergency contraception.
It also came after people took to social media and called for a Boots boycott, with campaigners saying the company's comments were insulting and sexist. Dr Sue Black, a UK government advisor, wrote on Twitter: "Disgraceful behaviour by @BootsUK please consider boycotting, I will be."
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Boots now claims that it is looking for cheaper alternatives to the Levonelle branded pill that it currently sells for £28.25, which is slightly more expensive than its own version, priced at £26.75.
The same Levonelle pill is sold for £13.50 at Tesco and Superdrug charges £13.49 for its own non-branded product.
Thousands of women take the morning-after pill in Britain every year, with The Guardian reporting that around 4% of British women of reproductive age use emergency contraception in any given year.
A spokesman for Boots told the BBC: "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."
Clare Murphy, director of external affairs at BPAS, said in a statement on the organisation's website: "We really welcome this apology from Boots and are delighted that they are committed to lowering the cost of emergency contraception.
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"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."
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