FDA panel paves way for approval of first over-the-counter birth control pill

Panel remained positive on the effectiveness of the pill, Perrigo’s Opill, currently approved for prescription use

A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted in favor of using Perrigo Co’s contraceptive – Opill – without a prescription, paving the way for the country’s first approval for an over-the-counter birth control pill.

Contraceptives have been in focus since the US supreme court last year overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies as it scrapped a landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe v Wade case.