JUST IN: FDA advisory panels vote unanimously to recommend making a birth control pill available without a prescription. The FDA is expected to decide in late summer whether to follow the recommendation of the committees.
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend making a birth control pill available without a prescription.about the quality of the data used to support switching the birth control pill, called Opill, from prescription to over-the-counter. The FDA did not have concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the drug.
Advocacy groups have been pushing for years for an over-the-counter birth control pill. Many major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, support over-the-counter use. FDA panel members, however, said Wednesday that they believed most women could determine on their own whether the medication is appropriate to use.
Agency officials were concerned about side effects, such as vaginal bleeding, and whether people, particularly teens, would know to seek the help of a health care provider. The move to switch from prescription to over-the-counter comes amid legal battles regarding women’s reproductive rights.
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