ICYMI: Murray Statement on FDA Advisory Committee’s Unanimous Vote to Recommend Approval of OTC Birth Control – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “The fight to expand access to contraception is even more important today in a world without Roe. So, it’s important that FDA follows the science and its advisory panel of experts.”
***WATCH: Senator Murray Urges FDA to Approve OTC Birth Control at Press Conference***
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee, led a press conference with U.S Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) and reproductive rights advocates to applaud the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote on Tuesday recommending that the FDA approve the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control.
Senator Murray encouraged the FDA to follow the science and not delay in getting over-the-counter birth control on the shelves for American women as soon as possible. Senator Murray also announced that, next week, she will be reintroducing her Affordability is Access Act with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, legislation to ensure that once an over-the-counter birth control option is approved, it is fully covered by insurers without any out-of-pocket costs.
“Birth control is safe, effective, and essential—we all know that, and women across America know that. The fight to expand access to contraception is even more important today in a world without Roe. So, it’s important that FDA follows the science and its advisory panel of experts,” said Senator Murray. “If the FDA moves forward and approves this application, it will mean that for the first time ever, a woman will be able to walk into a pharmacy and pick up birth control without a prescription — just like they can pick up Advil, or Tylenol. But it’s not enough for an over-the-counter birth control pill to be available to women—it has to be affordable, too. That’s why we need to pass my Affordability is Access Act, which I’ll be reintroducing next week.”
“As we face relentless attacks on our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous recommendation for over-the-counter birth control is a major step forward to affirm folks’ right to make decisions about their body, when to start a family, and their future,” said Rep. Pressley, Chair of the Pro Choice Caucus’ Abortion Rights and Access Task Force. “I’m proud to stand with Senator Murray and advocates in the fight to expand access to reproductive health care, and I look forward to working with them to ensure birth control is not only available over the counter, but also affordable and accessible to everyone who needs it.”
“We are in an unprecedented reproductive health crisis and making the birth control pill available on a mass scale is an important and urgent advancement,” Dana Singiser, Co-Founder of the Contraceptive Access Initiative and a Board Member of Planned Parenthood of Metro Washington. “People need more access to the most reliable forms of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy—the public health benefit is unassailable.”
“Power to Decide is encouraged by the FDA’s advisory committee’s unanimous vote to follow the science and recommend approval of Opill for over-the-counter (OTC) non-prescription use,” Robin Watkins, Senior Director of Health Care at Power to Decide. “Access to Opill OTC without an age restriction would be a major breakthrough in improving equitable access to this safe and effective birth control option, especially for the more than 19 million women in need of publicly funded contraception living in contraceptive deserts.”
“In a historic step forward for reproductive health, a joint FDA advisory committee voted on Tuesday in favor of moving a progestin-only birth control pill over the counter,” said Victoria Nichols, Project Director of Free the Pill. “Decades of coalition-driven advocacy and research efforts that have centered the voices of those most impacted by barriers to contraception caused by systemic inequities have made this possible. It is past time for an over-the- counter birth control pill, which has the potential to advance reproductive justice and expand health equity. Now, we look to the FDA to follow the committee’s recommendation, in addition to the overwhelming data, and approve the first-ever over-the-counter birth control pill in the US. The days of the current prescription requirement are numbered.”
Over the course of her career, Senator Murray has always fought to ensure widespread access to affordable birth control. She has introduced landmark legislation to ensure that, once the FDA determines an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers then fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any out-of-pocket costs. In the aftermath of the Dobbs leak, Senator Murray introduced and sought unanimous consent to pass the Right to Contraception Act to protect every American’s right to use contraception—Republicans blocked the bill. Senator Murray pushed to ensure birth control was covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), led the fight against the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, and has persistently pressed the administration to enforce the ACA’s coverage for contraceptive services since then. Senator Murray has long held that FDA must make its decisions based on sound science and public health needs, not politics—and she is widely credited with leading the fight to make Plan B available over the counter.
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