SALT LAKE CITY — The FDA approved the first birth control pill that doesn’t require a prescription to buy on Thursday.
Reputable medical organizations have been supportive of the FDA authorizing over-the-counter birth control pills for a while, said Dr. Alexandra Woodcock, OBGYN and Complex Family Planning Fellow at the University of Utah.
“We're really excited, especially in the OBGYN world," she said. "We've been pushing for this for a really long time. It’s safe for a huge variety of patients. There are very few contraindications to this, and so that's why it's pretty easy to understand why it's becoming available over the counter.”
According to Intermountain Health Chief Pharmacy Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services Carrie Dunford, The Opill only has progestin in it, whereas many of the birth control pills prescribed today also have estrogen.
“Progestin-only pills have been deemed kind of a mini-pill in the past, and they've often been used for patients who are breastfeeding, where you don't want to have estrogen exposure to a baby, or maybe for patients who have contraindications to an estrogen," she said. "There is less risk of blood clots."
Opill is expected to be available over the counter in drug stores, convenience stores and grocery stores, as well as online, in early 2024.
“Without any age restrictions over the counter, it's very similar to any other OC drug," Said Dunford. "Where a 16-year-old can go in and buy an ibuprofen and Midol and whatever is out there."
Some Utahns, like Gayle Ruzicka, President of Utah Eagle Forum, are skeptical of birth control pills being available to everyone so easily.
“Does that mean that girls underage will be able to do that?" she asked. "What kind of regulations are there going to be? Do they have to show their driver's license ID, you know, or prove their age?”
Ruzicka has questions about how children in the U.S. will be protected.
“There has to be a way to prevent young girls, underage, prevent going in and buying birth control and their parents not knowing," she said.
Dr. Woodcock's only concern is how much the pills will cost, and if it truly will make birth control more accessible once it's on our shelves.
“I think it is a message to kind of the scientific and also public community that we should trust our patients to understand their medical problems and trust that they can read what is safe for them," she said.
Kathryn Boyd, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Utah, wrote the following statement to FOX 13 News:
I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the FDA for their decision to #FreethePill! This is an incredible milestone and a triumph for reproductive rights. By making birth control pills available over-the counter for the first time, we are dismantling the obstacles individuals encounter with prescription methods and helping meet the needs of reproductive health care in our communities.This historic decision—which is supported by the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Physicians—paves the way for greater autonomy and reproductive healthcare accessibility.
