FDA Considers Approving First Over-The-Counter Birth Control

The Food and Drug Administration has begun considering the approval for the first over-the-counter birth control, which could be purchased without a prescription. According to the Guardian, the approval would come from a contraceptive pill made by HRA Pharma, which is called the “Opill”.

The Opill is reported by the Guardian to be “an every day, prescription-only hormonal contraception first approved in 1973” and can be sold over-the-counter. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have reported that the Opill is safe, and “can even be used by people with a history of blood clotting or uncontrolled high blood pressure”, since it only uses progestin. HRA Pharma has said the timing of approving this pill is unrelated to the overturning of Roe v Wade, and could be approved and ready to be sold as soon as 2023.