title: The debate about over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills.
abstract: Many prescription drugs have been converted to over-the-counter (OTC) status in recent years. Another drug that has been proposed for OTC status is a levonorgestrel-only emergency contraceptive pill. The debate surrounding OTC access to emergency contraceptive pills echoes issues encountered in previous reclassification processes and raises new challenges. This article discusses the emergency contraceptive pill, the evolution of its access options, and the context and implications of changing its status from a prescription to an OTC medication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. cwshi@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Chih-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Theodore G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Ganiats
mesh_terms: D044363:Contraception, Postcoital; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D017277:Drug Approval / Q000379:methods; D004341:Drug Evaluation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D011247:Pregnancy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs