In A First, FDA Approves Birth Control Pill That Could Be Sold Without A Prescription In The US: Report

The medication, which will be available over the counter, is called Opill.

Opill will be more effective at preventing pregnancy than condoms, spermicides and other non-prescription methods, and will become the most effective over-the-counter birth control method. (Representative Photo)

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In a first, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a birth control pill which can be sold without a prescription in the country. As a result of this decision, people could avail the contraceptive method more easily than before. The medication, which will be available over the counter, is called Opill, the New York Times (NYT) reported Thursday. Opill will be more effective at preventing pregnancy than condoms, spermicides and other non-prescription methods, and will become the most effective over-the-counter birth control method, the NYT report said. 

Young women and teenagers unable to obtain a prescription from doctors due to time or financial constraints can avail this medicine, the report said, citing experts in reproductive health. 

Dublin-based firm Perrigo Company has manufactured the pill, and said that it would most likely become available in the US in early 2024, according to the report. 

The pill's price is yet to be revealed. Quoting Frédérique Welgryn, Perrigo's global vice president for women's health, the report said that Perrigo was committed to making Opilll accessible and affordable to women and people of all ages, and that the firm would have provide the pill free of cost to some women through a consumer assistance program. 

It is important for women to have access to contraception because the US Supreme Court repealed the national right to contraception in 2022. 

However, for years before 2022, specialists organisations like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had been supporting a decision to make a non-prescription pill available for all ages, the report said.

According to a 2022 survey conducted by the health care research organisation 'The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)', more than three-quarters of women of reproductive age said they favoured an over-the-counter pill mainly because of convenience, and about 40 per cent of the hem said they would likely use it, the report stated.

The survey found that women without health insurance, Hispanic women, and women already taking birth control pills were the most likely to opt for an over-the-counter birth control pill.

However, Catholic organisations and a foundation called Students for Life Action oppose over-the-counter birth control pills. 

The report said that in May this year, a panel of 17 independent scientific advisers to the FDA voted that the benefits of a non-prescription pill offset the risks.