A pharmaceutical company is seeking FDA approval for an over-the-counter birth control pill.
HRA Pharma's application comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The company claimed its filing had nothing to do with the Supreme Court's decision.
The court's decision and restrictions passed at the state level have some Americans concerned about the availability of specific contraceptives.
Should the FDA approve HRA Pharma's application, the company will move to begin production on the first birth control pill in America available without a prescription.
The Daily Wire has more:
“This historic application marks a groundbreaking moment in contraceptive access and reproductive equity in the U.S.,” said Frédérique Welgryn, Chief Strategic Operations and Innovation Officer at HRA Pharma, in a statement. “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.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has supported the move to make birth control available over-the-counter in its research, citing barriers to access as a reason for inconsistent or non-use of birth control pills.
According to the National Library of Medicine in a 2016 study, 29% of American women who had ever tried to get a prescription for birth control reported a problem with obtaining a prescription or refills of birth control pills. The percentage was higher among those who were uninsured and Spanish-speaking women in the study.
Despite the push by the company to provide the new over-the-counter option, experts don't expect any change to occur immediately. Most FDA approvals take more than a year. In addition, if approved, the access would only include HRA Pharm's Opill pill.
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Dont we have those already
Once this is approved, women will be able to buy birth control pills OTC like they buy pain relievers, cold medications, and any number of other pharmaceuticals.
Excellent. This takes away a big excuse for having abortions instead of using birth control.
WTF is ‘reproductive equity’?
One of the arguments for Obamacare was that it would allow women to obtain birth control of any type for free. The doctor’s visit was free and the prescriptions were free. Now, even that isn’t enough – nothing is EVER enough for the Democrats; they will always push for more.
A huge percentage of women will never see a GYN if this is permitted, which will cause an increase in women dying from cervical cancer or other diseases that the GYN screens for during a routine visit. Dems have been saying that women will DIE because of the SCOTUS decision about abortion. Women really will die if this is approved.