OB/ GYN group backs over- the- counter pills

Doctors: Birth control should be more accessible

WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms, without a prescription or doctor’s exam.

Tuesday’s surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women’s advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it’s not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women’s wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn’t need to see a doctor before buying the morning- after pill — a higher- dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex.

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the infl uential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it’s safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women’s yearly visits for a birth- control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation’s pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn’t changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/ GYN who co- authored the opinion for the doctors group.

If the pill didn’t require a prescription, women could “pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out,” she said.

“It removes those types of barriers.”

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.