Perrigo Co.’s Opill received U.S. clearance as the first daily oral birth-control product available without a prescription, coming at a time when reproductive rights are increasingly under fire.
The decision released Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration widens access to the drug by removing barriers to obtaining oral contraception, such as inability to get a doctor’s appointment.
Birth control and reproductive health have risen to the top of the legislative and political agenda since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion for about 50 years. President Joe Biden has made reproductive rights a key feature of his 2024 reelection bid, casting Republican positions on abortion and contraception as extreme.
