From the Editorial Board: With states rushing to cut off access to abortion, and birth control looming as a potential battleground in the war over reproductive rights, it is important that the FDA make this matter a priority.
announced last week that it has applied to the FDA for approval to switch Opill, a progestin-only daily oral contraceptive licensed for prescription use in 1973, to over-the-counter use. If approved, it would be the first time Americans would have access to oral contraceptives without the need to obtain a prescription from a health professional.
. The requirement for a prescription can create barriers for women who don’t have easy access to a health-care provider because of cost, lack of transportation or child care, and privacy and confidentiality concerns. Making the pill available without a prescription could be particularly helpful to women in rural, poor and marginalized communities.Oral contraceptives have been safely used by millions of women in the United States for six decades.
Birth control is certainly no substitute for access to abortion care, but it is key to people making choices about their bodies, and can help in preventing unintended pregnancies and thereby reducing abortions. There should be timely review of this request, as House Democrats urged in a letter to the FDA sent even before the court’s misguided ruling in.
Another issue will be affordability. A spokesperson for HRA Pharma promised the company would make Opill “