A French pharmaceutical company asked the FDA Monday to approve its over-the-counter medication, which would allow Americans to buy birth control pills over the counter for the first time.
The FDA is considering the first over-the-counter birth control pill.
The birth control pill would be the first to be available without a prescription in the US if approved.
Since 1973, it has been approved for use in the U.S. with a prescription.
The progestin-only pill has a lower risk of blood clot than other pills that combine progestin and estrogen, but it doesn't have contraceptive uses.
According to the New York Times, the FDA is expected to make a decision on the pill in about a year.
In March, more than 50 lawmakers asked FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to review any applications the agency receives for over-the-counter birth control.
The American Medical Association supports giving patients with OTC access to the birth control pill as the health risks of pregnancy vastly outweigh those of oral contraceptive use.
There will be more companies. According to The Times, another U.S. birth control manufacturer is hoping to submit an application in the next year. According to the Associated Press, a trial for over-the-counter birth control pills was put on hold by the FDA due to the risk of blood clot.
There are more than 100. That is the number of countries that offer birth control without a prescription.
According to Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, birth control pills are not worth the risk of blood clot deaths. According to FDA data cited by the AP, between three and nine per 10,000 women on combination birth control pills get blood clot, compared to five per 10,000 women who aren't on birth control
Frédérique Welgryn, HRA's chief strategic and innovations officer, told the Times that the application was just a coincidence. The court's ruling has led to fears about the availability of birth control pills themselves, as well as making birth control pills more necessary, as more people hope to avoid unplanned pregnancies with abortion access sharply reduced. Critics of the court's ruling fear that the precedent will be used to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling in 1965, which legalized birth control for married couples only. Critics fear that some abortion bans could include contraceptive methods.
The F.D.A. wants to make sure that the sale of contraceptive pills is legal.
Here's how it could threaten birth control access.
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