Latest News
The Pill OTC
March 7, 2024: “What You Need to Know About the New Over-the-Counter Birth Control Opill” (New York Magazine’s The Cut)
“People should be able to have access to all [birth-control] methods without unnecessary barriers and restrictions. While this is a huge advancement, we can’t take away all the work that needs to be done to ensure that all people have access to the full range of contraception and abortion.”
— Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley
March 4, 2024: “America's first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available soon” (USA Today)
"People have a new choice, a new option to access the oral contraceptive pill without a prescription."
— Dana Singiser
Contraceptive Affordability
March 4, 2024: “Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control, will be available in stores soon” (Salon)
“At a time when reproductive health and rights are under attack, it is critical that everyone has the ability to access a birth control pill without barriers such as cost, prescriptions, insurance coverage and medical appointments. Heading to your local convenience or retail store for OTC birth control and not having to wait weeks or even months for a medical appointment is a game changer.”
— Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley
Jan. 12, 2024: States Prepping for OTC Birth Control Seek Federal Input (Bloomberg Law)
“To expand Opill’s reach across the US population, ‘what the Biden administration has the opportunity to do is create a uniform policy across all 50 states.’ […] Beyond ACA-regulated plans, the Biden administration can also require the federal Medicaid program, TRICARE, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs ‘to make sure that they’re using all of their authorities under law to make Opill and other over the counter forms of contraception fully covered by insurance.”
— Dana Singiser
Oct. 30, 2023: “Democratic lawmakers call for insurance plans to fully cover over-the-counter birth control pill” (CNN)
“On one hand, if you get a prescription, then your contraception is covered by insurance under the ACA. But if you buy it at the retail store over the counter, it’s not covered. So, it just makes no sense that a contraceptive product would be covered when you buy it on the shelf as opposed to when you obtain it with a prescription when it has the exact same health benefits.”
— Dana Singiser
Opposition to contraception
Feb. 12, 2024: “Republicans are taking aim on contraception — and they’d rather you didn’t know” (The Independent)
“‘Republicans have a long history of attacking contraception,’ And since the Dobbs decision, ‘it is getting harder and harder for Republicans to actually hide their long-standing opposition to contraception.’”
— Dana Singiser
Aug. 30, 2023: “Republican Women, Fearing Backlash on Abortion, Pivot to Birth Control” (The New York Times)
“The language is kowtowing to the anti-abortion lobby and part of an orchestrated effort to redefine pregnancy based on religious ideology. This is the latest in a long line of bills that Republicans throw out there that purport to be pro-contraception bills. When you peel back the layers of the onion, there’s always a catch.”
— Dana Singiser