FDA to decide on over-the-counter birth control pill

Hormone-based pills are the most common form of birth control, and they have always required a prescription. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to approve an over-the-counter option. French drugmaker HRA Pharma included years of research in its Monday application, indicating that women can assess the risks of birth control pills without the aid of a physician. HRA’s product, called Opill, contains one synthetic hormone, progestin, which makes it harder for an egg to become fertilized and implant in the uterus. 

How would the FDA approve it? Opill is not currently marketed in the U.S. FDA approval could come next year and would apply only to HRA Pharma’s Opill, which the company acquired from Pfizer in 2014. Last year, the FDA removed a requirement that women see a provider in person before being prescribed abortion pills that end early pregnancies.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s piece about how some pro-life pregnancy centers are offering women contraceptives.