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Opill, the first oral contraceptive pill to be available without a prescription in the U.S., has shipped to retailers nationwide. It will be sold online and in the family planning aisle of drugstores, convenience stores and supermarkets later this month, the manufacturer announced Monday.
Opill is a daily progestin-only pill, meaning there's no estrogen in it. That's why this kind of pill is sometimes called a mini-pill.
This isn't a new kind of birth control pill. The drug substance was originally approved for prescription use in 1973, according to the Food and Drug Administration. But this is the first birth control pill that has been approved for use without a prescription from a health care provider.
The FDA convened its panel of outside experts to advise it on this approval back in May, and the panel voted unanimously in favor of approval.
This is for people who want to prevent pregnancy but perhaps aren't able to visit their health care provider to get a prescription. They may be in between medical appointments, or they may be teens who otherwise aren't able to access reproductive health care.
Great, now make it mandatory for health insurances to fully cover birth control measures (pill, iuds, condoms, plan b, abortions...) at all ages. Worldwide, ideally. I know it is not realistic but it's a scandal that this is not standard.
As long as poor people still have to choose between buying food and buying birth control, this is a farce.