DENVER, Colorado — Earlier this month, advisors to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended approval for the first over-the-counter birth control pill. The recommendation is being seriously considered before a final decision.
If approved, the progastrin-only pill would be made by drug manufacturer Perrigo.
Advocates say it would reduce barriers to receive contraception by eliminating the need for a doctor's visit.
"Anyone who has been sick in the last three years knows that getting an appointment is challenging. And so, if your life is hard already, if you are low income, if you work multiple jobs, if you just have trouble accessing the health care system because of other barriers, then not having to go a doctor removes a huge step in the process of getting contraception," said Amanda Stevenson, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. "For some people can be the difference between being able to get contraception and not being able to get contraception."
Stevenson's research studies the impact of reproductive health policies.
Birth control pills like this are currently available to purchase without prescription in countries in South America and Asia, for example.
"I don’t see negatives. We know that this is a safe drug," Stevenson said. "My primary concern is whether it’s covered by insurance. So, in the United States, health insurance doesn’t cover over the counter drugs. Like Tylenol, Band-Aids, things like that. There are strategies that this may be able to be covered by health insurance and if those are not implemented, then this won’t actually improve access to most people because they would have to pay out of pocket."
Critics worry that people won't read the label correctly or use it with conditions they aren't supposed to.
"If your life is hard already, if you are low income, if you work multiple jobs, if you just have trouble accessing the health care system because of other barriers, then not having to go a doctor removes a huge step in the process of getting contraception," Stevenson said. "That for some people can be the difference between being able to get contraception and not being able to get contraception."
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