(WBBM NEWSRADIO) --The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a non-prescription birth control pill- a critical step in the movement for reproductive rights.
Opill will be the first birth control pill to be available over-the-counter in the United States.
Dr. Ashlesha with Cook County Health calls it a "game changer."
"The ability to go to your retail pharmacy, for example, to get birth control started safely and efficiently is terribly important for American women," she said.
Patel said Opill uses only the hormone progestin, making it both effective and safe.
"The safety profile of the progestin is higher, in terms of anybody can use it. There are only a few people we'd be cautious about."
She said the pill is a "critical move forward."
"We are enabling the future, the better future, for many of the people who might actually embark on using contraception, who are able to make decisions in their life that are so critical to empowerment, improvement, moving forward."
Opill is expected to hit store shelves early next year.
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