Pressley, Murray, Colleagues Have Led Efforts To Expand Affordable OTC Birth Control, Called for Swift FDA Action

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’ Abortion Rights and Access Taskforce, issued the following statement applauding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter birth control.

Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ami Bera (CA-06), is the lead sponsor of the Affordability is Access Act, legislation to ensure that once the FDA determined an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs.

“We fought hard for this because over-the-counter birth control is essential to our reproductive freedom. The FDA’s historic approval of the first-ever over-the-counter birth control pill in America is a victory in our fight for bodily autonomy and will empower folks to make decisions about their body, their future, and when to expand their family,” said Rep. Pressley. “Congress must now pass our Affordability is Access Act to make over-the-counter birth control free to all who need it, without any fees or out-of-pocket costs. With the far-right Supreme Court and anti-choice politicians working relentlessly to strip away our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, we must continue using every tool available to protect and expand the full suite of reproductive healthcare and affirm it as the fundamental human right that it is.”

In May 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote to recommend the approval of the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference applauding the decision and urging the FDA to approval over-the-counter birth control without delay.

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