A Paris-based pharmaceutical company on Monday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize its birth control pill for over-the-counter purchase, multiple outlets have reported. It's the first such request the FDA has ever received.
The company, HRA Pharma, said the timing of its application is unrelated to the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade (1973). The pill in question — known as Opill — has not been sold in the U.S. for over a decade, per The Washington Post. The company's request, meanwhile, "sets up a high-stakes decision for health regulators amid legal and political battles over women's reproductive health," The Associated Press contends.
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