Contraceptives for Anyone: FDA approves first OTC Birth Control Pill

Updated

By Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved today the nation’s first over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill. Called Opill and manufactured by Dublin-based Perrigo, the OTC contraceptive will be available online and at pharmacies, convenience stores, and grocery stores without a prescription sometime during the first quarter of 2024. The action is a victory for the movement “Free the Pill,” which states that barriers to birth control “are deeply rooted in systemic racism and other forms of discrimination and oppression.”

Free the Pill’s left-wing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) way of thinking aligns well with Opill manufacturer Perrigo, which pushes the same propaganda and has formally adopted the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), noting they’re a natural fit with the company’s business model. Perrigo has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and is actively “disclosing and partnering” with Walmart on its Project Gigaton initiative.

Project Gigaton, which is aligned with the Paris Agreement’s original 2-degree Celsius global warming scenario, was created by Walmart in 2017 to engage product supply chains in reducing greenhouse gases. Likewise, selling its birth control pill at every convenience store without a doctor’s appointment or prescription will surely be a plus to its sustainable goals strategies. After all, though not expressed openly, finding ways to reduce the global population—and women not having children will support that goal—is a large part of the Great Reset ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted by the growing climate change narrative.

In a July 13, 2023, press release announcing its approval of OTC Opill, the FDA stated that the medication “may reduce barriers” to birth control availability by allowing “individuals” (not women) to obtain an oral contraceptive without first seeing a health care provider. The corrupt agency tasked with protecting public health by regulating human and veterinary drugs, vaccines, and other biological products remarked in its statement that nearly half of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the U.S. each year are unintentional. The FDA states that Opill “may help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and their potential negative impacts.” Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, remarked:

“Today’s approval marks the first time a nonprescription daily oral contraceptive will be an available option for millions of people in the United States. When used as directed, daily oral contraception is safe and is expected to be more effective than currently available nonprescription contraceptive methods in preventing unintended pregnancy.”

Source: Grindlay K, Burns B, Grossman D. Prescription requirements and over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives: A global review. Contraception. 2013;88(1):91-6. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.11.021.

According to the FDA, the progestin-only (no estrogen) contraceptive (Norgestrel) has demonstrated that it can be safely and effectively used by “consumers” (there is no mention of female gender throughout the press release), relying only on the nonprescription drug labeling without the help of a health care professional. The FDA’s 11-page decision memorandum approving the switch of Norgestrel from full prescription to nonprescription notes that the actual use study (called ACCESS—Adherence with Continuous-Dose Oral Contraceptive: Evaluation of Self-Selection and Use) had a “significant problem,” with 30 percent of participants reporting a total number of tablets taken that exceeded the number of tablets dispensed.

The agency chalks the discrepancy up to “likely [being] related to design flaws in the eDiary.” Referencing the problem and its effect on the FDA’s decision, memorandum author Dr. Karen Minerve Murry, deputy director of the FDA’s Office of Nonprescription Drugs, remarked that the agency has “learned from the problems seen in ACCESS,” stating:

“The most difficult part of the decision-making process for this application was related to whether to approve despite the uncertainty due to the improbable results seen for at least 30% of participants in the ACCESS Actual Use phase. The decision is made based on the totality of evidence and on the benefit: risk calculus that includes a favorable risk: benefit equation for individual consumers and the possibility of at least a moderate, and perhaps large, reduction in unintended pregnancies, with the potential for attendant public health benefits.”

Recommending Perrigo’s OTC contraceptive for adolescents and adults alike, the FDA lists the most common side effects are changes in vaginal bleeding patterns, headaches, dizziness, nausea, increased appetite, abdominal pain, cramps, and bloating. Norgestrel contraception was initially developed by Laboratoire HRA Pharma, the company behind ellaOne, an OTC emergency contraception brand available without a prescription in 59 countries. However, Perrigo recently purchased the company for approximately $2.1 billion in funds affiliated with private equity firm and UN Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) devotee Astorg, completing Perrigo’s “transformation to a global leader in consumer self-care.” Indeed, Perrigo is a global leader that reveres George Floyd and lists Diversity & Inclusion, including gender identity, as one of its top ten priorities.

Alas, considering the circus-like atmosphere surrounding gender in America and the growing disregard for our children—remember, to this day, the FDA still recommends the dangerous and deadly mRNA jabs for infants—it seems fitting to mention the transgender man who speaks of wanting a uterus implant so he can get pregnant and then turn around and nonchalantly have an abortion. Under the big top of those trying to normalize mental illness while destroying our great nation, it should prove interesting to see how many transgender biological men prance into the closest store, grab a box of Opills and begin taking birth control pills simply because they can.

 

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Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

Tracy Beanz is an investigative journalist with a focus on corruption. She is known for her unbiased, in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. She hosts the Dark to Light podcast, found on all major video and podcasting platforms. She is a bi-weekly guest on the Joe Pags Radio Show, has been on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom and is a frequent guest on Emerald Robinson’s show. Tracy is Editor-in-chief at UncoverDC.com