Current:Home > reviewsThe FDA considers first birth control pill without a prescription -WealthSync Hub
The FDA considers first birth control pill without a prescription
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:53:41
For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration is considering allowing women to get birth control pills in the U.S. without a prescription.
"It's a very exciting historic moment for contraceptive access," says Kelly Blanchard, who heads Ibis Reproductive Health, a nonprofit research group.
On Tuesday, the agency is convening a two-day meeting of independent advisers to help it decide what to do. The FDA advisers will sift through the scientific evidence and make a recommendation to the agency, which is expected to make a final decision by the end of the summer.
Eliminating prescriptions would ease access
Birth control pills have a long track record. But in the U.S. women have always had to get a prescription first to get them, which can make it hard for many women, Blanchard says.
"It could be someone doesn't have a health care provider," Blanchard says. "It could be the time it would take to get an appointment, the cost to get to that appointment, taking time off work, organizing child care. All of those things really add up."
Allowing women of any age to just walk into their any drug store to buy pills off the shelf could make a huge difference, especially for less affluent women, she says.
The request is for a pill that would be sold by Perrigo under the brand name Opill, a so-called progestin-only pill that only contains a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone to prevent pregnancy. Most pills also contain estrogen.
Major medical groups, such as the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, are backing the request.
But groups like the Catholic Medical Association are opposed, and not just on religious grounds.
In addition to questioning the safety of making a birth control available without a prescription, that group argues that easier access would help sex traffickers and that skipping the requirement to see a doctor would harm women's health in other ways.
"It eliminates the need to see a physician for young ladies to see a physician for the prescription," says Dr. Timothy Millea, who head's the association's health care policy committee. "That will eliminate the screenings for ovarian cancer, for cervical cancer, for sexually transmitted infections."
The FDA asks questions
An FDA assessment also raised questions about taking a health professional out the equation. FDA scientists questioned whether women would take the pill every day at the same time, as they're supposed to, and whether women who shouldn't take the pill because of certain health problems would know that.
But proponents dismiss those concerns, arguing there's plenty of evidence that women can easily handle it. Pills are available without a prescription in more than 100 other countries.
"We think the evidence is quite clear," says Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the AMA's president. "First of all, oral contraceptives have been used safely by millions of women in the United States and around the world since the 1960s."
Moreover, while regular exams are important, "they're not necessary prior to initiating or refiling an oral contraceptive," Resneck says.
Resneck and others add that easy access to effective birth control has never been more important, given that access to abortion is increasingly being restricted in this country.
"Reproductive rights are under attack," says Dr. Daniel Grossman, who studies reproductive health issues at the University of California, San Francisco. "Certainly in places where abortion access have become more restricted, it's critical that people have access to all the the possible tools to prevent an unwanted pregnancy."
Editing by Scott Hensley
veryGood! (353)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
- A Georgia governor’s latest work after politics: a children’s book on his cats ‘Veto’ and ‘Bill’
- Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- USA's Jade Carey will return to Oregon State for 2025 gymnastics season
- Charm Jewelry Is Back! How To Build the Perfect Charm Bracelet and Charm Necklace
- Connie Chiume, Black Panther Actress, Dead at 72: Lupita Nyong'o and More Pay Tribute
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Jury selection set for Monday for ex-politician accused of killing Las Vegas investigative reporter
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Jamaica's Kishane Thompson more motivated after thrilling 100m finish against Noah Lyles
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Texas man accused of placing 'pressure-activated' fireworks under toilet seats in bathrooms
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- The AI doom loop is real. How can we harness its strength? | The Excerpt
- Three people arrested in rural Nevada over altercation that Black man says involved a racial slur
- Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
Recommendation
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
USA men's volleyball mourns chance at gold after losing 5-set thriller, will go for bronze
A Georgia governor’s latest work after politics: a children’s book on his cats ‘Veto’ and ‘Bill’
From bitter rivals to Olympic teammates, how Lebron and Steph Curry became friends
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
How horses at the Spirit Horse Ranch help Maui wildfire survivors process their grief
What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate
What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate