MEMPHIS, Tenn — Federal officials approved the nation's first over-the-counter birth control pill Thursday morning.
The daily birth control pill, Opill, can now be sold legally over the counter at drug stores, allowing women and girls to quickly get birth control without seeing a doctor first.
With about half of U.S. pregnancies being unintended, the future looks promising for those interested.
Dr. John Schorge, UT Health Science Center Chair of OBGYN, said the decision has been a long time coming. The U.S. is behind multiple countries that have already legalized the over-the-counter drug.
The decision will create more access for those who are uninsured. Schorge said those most at risk of unintended pregnancies "are the ones that do not have access to oral contraceptives or contraceptives in general."
“If you just go to CVS and get a Tylenol, that, you don’t have to get a doctor’s visit, wait in line, take transportation, time off work, find people to watch the kids,” Schorge said. “It simplifies everything, and it’s going to be a great advance for the women of Shelby County. Especially the uninsured, the underinsured, the underrepresented minority women that are most at risk. It’s going to help all of that.”
Opill has side effects, including irregular bleeding, headaches, dizziness, nausea, increased appetite, abdominal pain, cramps and bloating. But Dr. Schorge said these are side effects associated with most forms of contraception.
“I would tell parents that there’s a tremendous safety profile of oral contraceptives," Schorge said. "They prevent ovarian cancer, they prevent uterine cancer, they have a number of other health benefits in regulating periods and there’s really very little side effect or toxicity to really be concerned about.”
With the ruling by the FDA being so new, it is not certain if an age requirement for someone to buy this form of contraception will be made, but Dr. Schorge expects an 18-year-and-older restriction. Regardless, he insists the pill does more good than bad at most ages.
The accessibility is reassuring for many, but the price point is unknown. The price still needs to be affordable, especially with a major target audience being the uninsured.
With multiple questions still lingering, the company has time to get things in order as they do not plan to ship the pill until 2024.
Opill is not an emergency contraception and does not protect against HIV, AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease.