FDA advisers vote unanimously in favor of OTC birth control pills

"We need to trust women."

BETH MOLE
5/10/2023

A panel of independent medical experts for the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of allowing the hormonal birth control pill Opill (norgestrel) to be sold over the counter rather than by prescription.

The 17-0 vote by the panel came after a two-day meeting in which the experts reviewed data and analyses from the pill's maker, Laboratoire HRA Pharma, and FDA scientists, as well as heard public comments on the potential switch.

Continued: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/05/otc-birth-control-pill-gets-unanimous-vote-in-favor-from-fda-advisers/


Chile’s Government Gave Out Flawed Birth Control Pills Which Caused Dozens of Unplanned Pregnancies

By Mary Anne Webber
Mar 04, 2021

The government of Chile has provided hundreds of thousands of defective birth control pills to women that resulted in at least 140 unplanned pregnancies.

The birth control pill packs, which went by the name of Anulette CD, were packaged incorrectly, with the sugar pills or placebo, in the place of the active pills.

Continued: https://www.latinpost.com/articles/149505/20210304/chile-government-flawed-birth-control-pills-unplanned-pregnancies.htm


Defective Birth Control Blamed for Scores of Unplanned Pregnancies in Chile

The public health system delivered, and then quietly recalled, 276,890 potentially flawed packets of birth control pills. At least 140 women believe they got pregnant because of the error.

by Ernesto Londoño, New York Times
March 2, 2021

There had to be a mistake, Melanie Riffo thought, staring in disbelief at the result of her pregnancy test: Positive.

She had been taking her birth control pills without fail, Ms. Riffo said. She and her boyfriend were careful. He’d even been told by doctors that a childhood ailment could have left him infertile.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/americas/chile-women-birth-control.html


Canada – The Pill was legalized 50 years ago, but experts say we can still improve contraceptive access

The Pill was legalized 50 years ago, but experts say we can still improve contraceptive access

By Leslie Young, Senior National Online Journalist, Health Global News
Sep 26, 2019

As recently as the early 1960s, contraceptives were illegal in Canada.

People still used them, according to Christabelle Sethna, a professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Ottawa, and co-editor of an upcoming book on changes to sexuality laws in the 1969 Omnibus bill.

People were getting condoms or the relatively new birth control pill under the table from pharmacists, nurses or doctors, she said, though they were technically illegal sales. A Toronto pharmacist, Howard Fine, was convicted in 1960 for selling condoms.

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/5955190/pill-legalized-canada-50-years/


Australia – Birth control pills should be available over the counter, advocates say

Birth control pills should be available over the counter, advocates say
But Australian doctors group says plan for easier access to contraceptives raises ‘red flags’

Melissa Davey
Mon 22 Oct 2018

Women’s health and equality groups are at odds with the peak body for doctors as to whether the contraceptive pill should be made available in Australia over the counter.

It follows a commitment by Victoria’s opposition to make the contraceptive pill available over-the-counter from pharmacists if the coalition is elected in November. Under the plan, women would be required to visit their doctor in the first instance but able to obtain future courses of the pill from a pharmacist.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/22/birth-control-pills-should-be-available-over-the-counter-advocates-say