A team of health care experts is suggesting that the birth control pill be sold without a prescription. The pill is the most popular hormonal form of birth control for American teens and women. Now, experts in pediatric, adolescent and women’s health say regulatory, behavioral and scientific evidence support  selling the drug over the counter.  

 

“Decades of research show that a majority of adolescents initiate sex before the age of 18 and that earlier use of contraception reduces the risk of teen pregnancy. Our review strongly suggests that giving teens easier access to various contraceptives will not lead to more sex but would result in fewer unwanted pregnancies,” says Krishna Upadhya, M.D., M.P.H.  assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the paper’s lead author.

 

A European pharmaceutical company and a nonprofit research group are working together to prepare and submit an application to the FDA for approval of an over-the-counter form of a progestin-only birth control pill. That process could take several years.