SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND: Women and girls around the country will now be able to get access to birth control pills without the need for a prescription! This comes after US officials approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill. Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill will be available from the next year and will come with no age restriction on sales. "My parents did not let me go on the pill. There was just a lot of cultural stigma around being sexually active before you’re married," said Dyvia Huitron on how she couldn’t get prescription birth control after being sexually active for more than three years. She had to depend on other forms of contraception. "I would have much preferred to have birth control and use these additional methods to ensure that I was being as safe as possible," she said.
It is observed that over-the-counter medicines are usually cheaper in comparison to prescribed drugs, however, they are not covered by insurance. Other than birth control pills, the other medications that moved to the status of non-prescription include drugs for pain, heartburn, and allergies.
What is Opill and is it safe?
Opill is a once-a-day medication used by women for birth control and is manufactured by Perrigo. The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday, July 13, that the hormone-based pills will be sold without any age limit and will be accessible in the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops. Opill has only progestin which blocks sperm from reaching the cervix and avoids pregnancy.
Perrigo is an Ireland-based pharmaceutical company which hasn’t made the price official. It had submitted its research work expanding over several years to FDA, showing that women could understand and follow instructions for the usage.
'A transformation in access to contraceptive care'
There has been a massive push by women’s health groups and medical societies lately for far more accessibility since, as per studies, 45% of the six million annual pregnancies in the nation are unplanned. It is reported that teens, girls, women of color, and those with low incomes face the most difficulty in getting the prescription and getting the medication from the store. A few of these challenges can be paying for a doctor’s visit, getting leaves from the office, and access to child care, reports FOX9.
"This is really a transformation in access to contraceptive care. Hopefully this will help people overcome those barriers that exist now," noted Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive Health, a non-profit group that supported the approval.
