Big win for birth control activists with FDA recommendation
FDA recently met to discuss whether birth control should be sold over the counter
The Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recently recommended that the agency approve over-the-counter access to birth control.
This desired move has long been central to the reproductive rights movement. Lately, it’s received bipartisan support from state and federal lawmakers nationwide as they try to reduce unintended pregnancies amid abortion bans.
According to the National Library of Medicine, one-third of women experience barriers when it comes to obtaining birth control. Those barriers can include obstacles presented by travel, language and finances. The problem of contraceptive deserts was recently featured on 60 Minutes.
The medication in question is Opill. It was first approved as a prescription drug in 1973. It’s taken daily by women who want to control their fertility. This is an important development given the challenges faced by rural women who live in contraceptive deserts.
Robin Watkins, senior director at Power to Decide, an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting reproductive rights, said this was a major breakthrough and creates equity for birth control access.
“I think this will increase access for everyone who wants to use a birth control pill,” Watkins said.
“We know that two and five people in a national survey said they would be interested in using birth control pills if they were over the counter.”
It’s also problematic to have ID requirements for access to birth control because many low-income women and minorities don’t have those things. The FDA didn’t recommend them. Another key aspect of this decision by the FDA was that they didn’t recommend age restrictions for birth control sold over the counter.
“Age restrictions are unnecessary and as a health care provider who works with young people,” Watkins said. “I know that my patients can read the label and follow the instructions correctly and consistently.”