#FDA advisers endorse making #BirthControl pill available #OverTheCounter
Advisers to the FDA on Wed unanimously endorsed making #BirthControlPills available w/o a prescription, brushing aside concerns raised by the agency about whether the medication could be used in a safe &effective manner w/o physician oversight.
#Opill #access #contraception #ReproductiveRights #RoeVWade #AbortionRights #Health #SCOTUS
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/05/10/birth-control-pill-over-the-counter-fda/
The #FDA’s outside experts expressed confidence, in a 17 to 0 vote, that consumers could take an #OralContraceptive called #Opill correctly. They said the benefits of #OTC status, such as increased #access to #contraception, outweighed the risks, including a lack of strict adherence to pill-taking that could result in unintended pregnancies.
The move sharply bolsters the likelihood that Opill…will become the first #BirthControlPill available in the US w/o a prescription.
The #FDA does not have to follow the advice of its advisers, but a rejection of the #OTC application… would be awkward for an admin that has repeatedly pledged to protect #ReproductiveRights following the #SupremeCourt’s overturning of #RoeVWade, which guaranteed the #nationwide #right to #abortion.
#OralContraceptive #Opill #OverTheCounter #access #contraception #BirthControlPill #BirthControl #BodilyAutonomy #AbortionRights #Health #SCOTUS
Yeah, but Democrats have a history of rejecting this exact issue, refusing to get behind legislative efforts to make birth control OTC.
Also, it's one of my gripes that this administration in particular was ignoring FDA advisory panel conclusions during COVID.
I figure they will follow this advice, but I still wish they were held accountable for their past actions.
