Opill Gets FDA Approval As The First Over-The-Counter U.S. Contraceptive Pill
The Food and Drug Administration or FDA has sealed their approval on Opill on 13th July 2023. It is the first U.S. over-the-counter contraceptive pill to get FDA approval. With the approval of the FDA to get this birth control pill without a prescription, there seems to be an improvement in the access to contraception for women.
With FDA approval, this pill is considered a safer and more comprehensive method than condoms and other “non-prescription” means. Especially young women and teenagers can primarily benefit from this contraception pill. It is not always easy for them to get a prescription for birth control pills.
Having said that, there is still no information about the pills to be available from early 2024 in the USA. So, despite its availability as an over-the-counter medication, its cost remains a concern for many. If the pills are priced on the higher side, collegegoers and teenagers may not be able to afford that, and they may be forced to follow the methods they have been doing so far.
However, Frédérique Welgryn, the global vice president of Dublin-based Perrigo Company, the maker of these pills, has responded to this concern. He has said that the company wants to make the pills “accessible and affordable to women and people of all ages.” He further adds that Perrigo Company is about to begin a “Consumer Assistance Program.” This program will aim to make the pills available for a certain section of women without any cost.
In the USA, contraception has become a necessity to avoid unwanted pregnancy and the hassles that come with it. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the “national right to abortion.” Organizations like the “American Academy of Family Physicians,” “American Medical Association,” and “American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists” have been supporting the need for non-prescription contraceptives pill for quite some time now. Hopefully, with FDA approval, this pill will be able to bridge the gap.
Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA, says, “Today’s approval marks the first time a nonprescription daily oral contraceptive pill will be an available option for millions of people in the United States.”
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