Over-the-counter birth control pills could be a real thing soon

In a unanimous vote, an expert panel for the Food and Drug Administration recommended that Opill, an oral contraceptive pill, be available to women over-the-counter. The FDA doesn’t have to follow the committee’s recommendation, but often does, so this is a pretty good signal for what's to come.

The decision comes at a perilous time for women’s reproductive rights, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the legal battle over the abortion pill mifepristone. With the vote, the 17 members of the committee acknowledged that women need an accessible, safe way to prevent pregnancy, without medical supervision. Here are some of the factors that the panel members considered:

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