What. Are prevention pills a new thing to you guys in the US or why does this seem like 40-50 year old news to me? What's the dealio? Sorry if obvious.
OTC (over-the-counter) means you can walk up and buy them on your own, no RX from a Dr needed.
Previously, and in many states, you need a prescription to get them. Pretty easy, as it's preventative and helps with other stuff as well, but with the way we're going, who knows what is getting hacked away next...
I don't know how it works where you are, but in the US, we've always needed to get a written prescription from a doctor to get birth control pills. The prescription gets you permission to obtain the pills from the pharmacist (chemist) "behind the counter." The change here is the pills will be available without seeing a doctor first aka "over the counter" as we call it.
This has its good and bad points. It's better for people to receive teaching from a doctor about the side effects of birth control and how to use it. But also, getting in to see a doctor is a huge hurdle for working class people who need birth control the most. So overall, I support the move to make both control available over the counter.
Anyone smarter than me able to tell me if state governors/governments have the authority to allow this before the FDA? Last I heard a non-script birth control was still in the pipeline to be sold over the counter.
“Birth control medication is already available over-the-counter in Oregon, California and Washington, D.C. More than 20 states have statutes that allow pharmacies to dispense FDA-approved hormonal contraceptives without the need for a prescription, per a statement from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
At the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration has endorsed the over-the-counter drug Opill, saying the risks of unintended pregnancy far outweighed any risks associated with the drug.”
Apparently it’s already OK’ed by the FDA. I did not know this prior.
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