Access to the full range of contraceptive methods is a foundational component of reproductive
well-being [
[1]
], and we are at a pivotal moment for contraceptive access in the United States. The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering the first-ever application for an
over-the-counter (OTC) progestin-only oral contraceptive pill—a culmination of more
than two decades of science and advocacy that would put the U.S. on par with many
other countries where oral contraception has long been available OTC [
[2]
]. This opportunity to expand access to contraception is all the more important in
the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision overturning fundamental abortion protections in the United States [
[3]
]. Between misconceptions conflating contraception with abortion, which have been strategically
perpetuated to undermine contraceptive access [
[4]
], and explicit questioning of long-standing legal precedent for contraceptive rights
[
[3]
], the scientific community must do all it can to ensure equitable access informed
by evidence.Keywords
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References
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- Over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives.Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2015; 42: 619-629https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogc.2015.07.002
- Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.Supreme Court of the United States, 2022 (597 19–1392)
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- Over-the-counter access to hormonal contraception.Obstet Gynecol. 2019; 134: e96-105https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003473
American Academy of Family Physicians. Over-the-counter oral contraceptives, https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/otc-oral-contraceptives.html. [accessed 8 November 2022].
American Medical Association. AMA urges FDA to make oral contraceptive available over-the-counter, https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-urges-fda-make-oral-contraceptive-available-over-counter. [accessed 8 November 2022].
SSRS. SSRS opinion panel omnibus, https://ssrs.com/ssrs-omnibus-survey/. [accessed 28 October 2022].
- Physician beliefs about contraceptive methods as abortifacients.Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022; (Online ahead of print)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.039
- Social-ecological barriers to access to healthcare for adolescents: a scoping review.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18: 4138https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084138
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 26, 2022
Accepted:
November 16,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 14,
2022
Received:
November 3,
2022
Footnotes
☆Disclosure: The authors do not have any conflicts to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
