Daily Herald opinion: Over-the-counter birth control pills should be benefit to young, poor women
This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.
Access to birth control just became easier for millions of women and girls in this country.
The FDA last week approved over-the-counter sales of the Opill oral contraceptive. Starting early next year, anyone can walk into a drugstore and buy the birth control pill. Just like anyone, at any age, can walk into a drugstore and buy condoms.
And in this country where nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, this is all about convenience and accessibility, making it easier for women to control one aspect of their own health care.
You won't need insurance, a prescription or an uncomfortable exam.
Teenage girls can get the reliable birth control they need to avoid an unintended pregnancy without any obstacles. Without parents telling them no. Without an awkward doctor's visit that many teenagers avoid at all costs.
For women who don't have insurance or a health care provider or facility nearby, they can avoid logistical hurdles and instead buy the pill online or at their local grocery store, just like they buy aspirin or cold medicine.
Fifty years after Opill became available by prescription only, and 60 years after birth control pills were introduced in this country, it's about time.
When women's health care and reproductive choices are being constantly challenged and threatened in this country, it's about time.
Of course, some will think this will make girls and women more "promiscuous." Are men considered promiscuous when they have access to condoms at every convenience store in town? Or are they simply seen as sexually active and responsible?
Some will think this encourages sex at a young age, but kids will have sex if they want to have sex. Access to contraception and condoms helps them avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, both of which can affect young people's lives forever.
Over-the-counter access removes barriers, giving women control of their reproductive decisions.
Cook County Health OB/GYN Dr. Ashlesha Patel told ABC 7 that improving access to birth control will likely reduce unintended pregnancies and improve health care overall.
"To improve access for women and persons that choose not to be pregnant, this is a game-changer," she said.
So thank you, FDA, for giving women greater control of their bodies and their futures.
A happy byproduct to this could mean fewer abortions.
What's yet to be determined is the cost of the over-the-counter pill. We hope manufacturers take into account that affordability is key when the OTC version of the pill is released early next year.
A word of warning, though, to those who might circumvent a doctor's advice and buy the pill on her own: birth control pills do nothing to protect you from sexually transmitted diseases. A condom used in concert with the pill is good insurance.