FDA approves the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill. The daily oral contraceptive is called Opill. And NPR pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin is here to tell us all about it. Hey there.
SYDNEY LUPKIN: Hello.
KELLY: All right. So what is this? What is Opill? Is it different from existing birth control pills?
LUPKIN: Yeah, so really the newest thing about this is that it will be available without a prescription - that is, without seeing a health care provider first. The drug substance itself was actually originally approved for prescription use 50 years ago, so it's pretty well understood. It's a once-daily pill with pretty standard birth control side effects - headaches, cramps, bloating, things like that. The big thing here is that making it available over the counter in drugstores and convenience stores and supermarkets should make it a lot more accessible.
KELLY: Right, which has taken on new significance in light of the changes in abortion laws that have happened over this last year, right?
LUPKIN: Right. So since Dobbs - the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade last year, some states have effectively made abortion illegal. So people who don't want to be pregnant need more options for prevention. This pill is aimed at reducing barriers to hormonal birth control for people who can't get to a doctor, are between medical appointments, are teens and may be unable to get access to reproductive health care. It's also more effective than other things available over the counter, like condoms. And that's why medical societies like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics are applauding the FDA. However, they say it doesn't replace the need for abortion as medical care.