The United States authorized, Thursday, July 13, the sale without a prescription of a contraceptive pill, a first in the country, which hopes to facilitate its access. The affected pill, Opill, will be available in pharmacies, convenience stores and supermarkets as well as online on the internet, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced.
This decision must “reduce barriers to access” to this method of contraception, by making it possible to obtain it “without first having to see a healthcare professional”, wrote the FDA in a press release.
Many countries already allow the over-the-counter sale of birth control pills. But this measure comes in a particular context in the United States, where the right to abortion is under renewed attack from conservatives and is now suppressed in several states.
“If used as directed, daily oral contraception is safe and more effective in preventing unintended pregnancies than currently available over-the-counter methods of contraception,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at within the FDA.
The delivery of this pill, produced by the pharmaceutical company HRA Pharma, recently acquired by Perrigo, had already been authorized in the United States by prescription for many years.