Over-the-counter birth control pill becomes available

Online stores and retail storefronts this week began selling Opill, a progestin-only, no-prescription-needed contraceptive. Opill also sells the product on its website and on Amazon. Earlier this month, manufacturer Perrigo said it had begun shipping the product to stores all across the country. The package includes months’ worth of pills that women are supposed to take in sequence without missing any pills.

What’s the deal with this pill? The Food and Drug Administration last July approved Opill for sale and use. It is the first over-the-counter contraceptive ever approved by the FDA. The pill, when used alongside other forms of contraception, could have a roughly 98 percent rate of “perfect-use effectiveness,” the FDA said. It warned that physical symptoms such as headaches, bleeding, and nausea are “common.”

Dig deeper: Read Katelyn Walls Shelton’s column in WORLD Opinions discussing how Opill could be used as an abortion pill.