Last week, the FDA approved Opill, the first daily oral contraceptive that will be available for sale over the counter in stores as well as online. Reproductive health advocates hailed the groundbreaking approval as a step that can help millions of people avoid pregnancy, which is unintended nearly half the time in the United States.
They long have argued that eliminating the often-time-consuming step of requiring women to get a prescription before they can get birth control pills would expand access and give women more control over their contraceptive decisions.
Advocates want the FDA approval to signal a trend.
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