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Planned Parenthood birth control app to be available nationwide by 2020

The app makes it easier to obtain birth control and get treatments for UTIs.

Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
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Planned Parenthood says its app will be available in all 50 states by 2020. 

Saul Loeb

Planned Parenthood, a reproductive health care non profit, said Wednesday that its Planned Parenthood Direct app would expand its coverage nationwide by the end of 2020. The app, which offers birth control and treatments for urinary tract infections (UTIs) is currently available in 27 states and the District of Columbia. 

In a release, Planned Parenthood said that through the app, users can request for birth control pills to be delivered to their door, get a prescription for a UTI treatment sent to a nearby pharmacy, learn about different methods of birth control or make an appointment at a Planned Parenthood health center. 

"Planned Parenthood is continually looking for new ways to reach people with the care they need, and we're proud to be a leader in using technology and innovation to expand people's access to health care and information," Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "As politicians across the country try to restrict or block access to critical reproductive and sexual health care, the Planned Parenthood Direct app is just one part of the work we do to ensure that more people can get the care they need, no matter where they are."

Planned Parenthood launched its app in 2015 and slowly added states. Last October, the app added Texas. Through the app, users could chat with a Planned Parenthood provider online or through video chat to receive an STD testing kit or birth control in the mail. 

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