Press Release  AG Healey Urges FDA to Approve Country’s First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the country’s first over-the-counter birth control pill. The coalition states that making birth control available without a prescription will improve access to safe and timely contraception for millions of people in the United States. 

The FDA is currently reviewing an application to approve a birth control pill, named Opill, for over-the-counter use. In a comment letter submitted to the FDA, the coalition states that approving an over-the-counter birth control pill will reduce barriers to contraception, giving people agency and helping them reduce unintended pregnancies, which are associated with poor health and economic outcomes. 

“One in three adults face obstacles in accessing safe and timely prescription contraception, and these barriers are even greater for vulnerable communities,” said AG Healey. “Making birth control available over-the-counter will go a long way toward empowering people to take control of their health, their lives, and their future.”  

The attorneys general specifically say Opill should be approved because:  

• It has been found to be safe and effective for most users. Birth control pills, including Opill, have been used safely for decades and are the most popular non-permanent birth control method in the United States. Nearly 37 percent of all women ages 18-49 have used the birth control pill in the last year with minimal side effects. The nation’s major medical organizations – including The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians — all agree that birth control pills, like Opill, are generally safe and support making Opill available over-the-counter. 
• It would remove barriers to obtaining birth control faced by vulnerable populations. One-third of adults in the U.S. who have ever tried to obtain prescription contraception have reported accessing barriers, including getting an appointment, having to travel for clinic visits, navigating restrictions on the amount they can buy monthly, or obtaining the contraception before their prescription expires. Furthermore, one-third of birth control users say they have missed taking their birth control because they could not get their next supply in time. These barriers disproportionately impact people of color, low-income people, transgender and nonbinary people, and individuals living in rural areas, who are more likely to be underinsured or uninsured. The coalition states that making birth control available over-the-counter will help reduce these barriers, which in turn will improve physical and mental health and economic outcomes, particularly in vulnerable populations, and lower maternal mortality rates associated with unintended pregnancies. 

The attorneys general also write that, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this year, many states have banned or restricted abortion care, narrowing the choices for those seeking reproductive care and making access to birth control even more critical nationwide, including for residents of Massachusetts who may be traveling, living, working, or studying in anti-abortion states.  

Joining AG Healey in filing today’s letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. 

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