FDA Set To Consider The First-Ever Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pills
Abortion rights and contraceptive access have drawn increased attention in recent months following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade.
On Monday, pharmaceutical company Perrigo said the Food and Drug Administration has set a meeting of external experts for Nov. 18 to review the application for Opill, its daily birth control pill, to be purchased over the counter. If approved, Opill would be the first birth control pill that can be bought without a prescription in the U.S.
"This historic application marks a groundbreaking moment in contraceptive access and reproductive equity in the U.S.," Frederique Welgryn, Chief Strategic Operations and Innovation Officer at Perrigo's affiliate HRA Pharma, said in a press release in July, when the application was first sent.
Opill has been available as a prescription birth control since it was approved in 1973.
Perrigo said that "removing the prescription requirement with Opill would improve access to a contraceptive method that is well tolerated and notably more effective at preventing pregnancy than all current methods available OTC."
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, abortion-pill providers have pushed for lifting regulations and laws to meet demand. The U.S. legalized medication abortion in 2000. It typically involves the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.
"More than 60 years ago, prescription birth control pills in the U.S. empowered women to plan if and when they want to get pregnant. Moving a safe and effective prescription birth control pill to OTC will help even more women and people access contraception without facing unnecessary barriers," Welgryn said in the July release.
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