Contraceptive Technology Update – July 1, 2023

FDA’s Final Decision on OTC Birth Control Pill Expected Soon

The unanimous endorsement of over-the-counter Opill norgestrel tablets by the joint advisory committee of the FDA may put the birth control pill on pharmacy shelves later this year.

Physicians and Decisions About Abortions

The United States has arrived at the day when fully half to two-thirds of all states have passed laws to ban abortions as completely as possible. The situations in which abortion is banned vary from state to state. In some states, the punishment for failing to adhere to complicated laws is harsh.

Abortion Bans End Standard Pregnancy Care in Large Swaths of the United States

When South Carolina and North Carolina passed abortion bans in May 2023, they were among the last states in the Southeast to end standard pregnancy and abortion care. Standard abortion care for women in most of the South and parts of the Midwest will now be denied to all but a small percentage of people. Those who want or need abortion care a couple of months into pregnancy will need to travel hundreds of miles to a state where abortion care is legal.

Physicians Anonymously Tell Their Stories in New Study

It is tough to have a uterus in the post-Dobbs United States. The physicians who treat pregnant women are outraged and horrified, according to their anonymous stories in a new report: Care Post-Roe: Documenting cases of poor-quality care since the Dobbs decision.

Medicaid Beneficiaries Often Lack Primary Care Access to Contraception, Especially LARC

A study of more than 250,000 primary care physicians revealed that fewer than half prescribed hormonal birth control methods and only 10% provided intrauterine devices or implants to patients with Medicaid coverage.

Lawsuits, Complaints Detail Medical Terror Some Pregnant Patients Face

Since states like Missouri and Texas rushed to ban abortion, using language that is vague and with narrow exceptions, hospitals and physicians across the South and in other areas with abortion bans are denying health-saving care to pregnant patients in crisis.