Pharmaceutical firm Perrigo Co Plc has said that the US Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a meeting to discuss the usage of its daily birth control pill for over-the-counter (OTC). The meeting will take place on November 18 and external experts will be a part of it.

Access to contraception became a major issue after 1973 when US Supreme Court’s decision in 1973 Roe v. Wade which legalised abortion.

Prescription drug Opill’s FDA meeting is scheduled to take place around four months after unit HRA Pharma submitted an application to the health authority. If authorised, it will be the country’s first daily OTC birth control pill.

According to Dr Kristyn Brandi, a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “I’m hopeful that the FDA will reach a point where they will agree with the research that already exists to prove that over-the-counter birth control is safe and effective.”

Additionally, pro-abortion advocates have cemented their calls for mifepristone to be made available over the counter.
Up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, misoprostol and mifepristone work together to cause an abortion. Since its approval in 1973, the non-estrogen contraceptive Opill has been available only by prescription.