FDA advisers endorse over-the-counter birth control pill

A panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unanimously voted Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available over the counter outweigh the potential risks.

The vote represents a major step forward in the decades-long push to make birth control pills available without a prescription for the first time ever.

The FDA is expected to make a final decision later this summer. The agency does not have to follow the panel's recommendation.

Members of the agency's advisory board said the risks of unintended pregnancy were far greater than any risks associated with the drug, called Opill.

Making it available over the counter would significantly expand access to contraception, especially for younger women and those in rural and underserved communities who currently need to overcome logistical barriers to get their birth control.