The most commonly prescribed contraceptive in America is getting easier to access, if you can afford it or live in the right state.

Why it matters: The role of of contraception has become more vital with mounting abortion restrictions across the U.S., a year after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion.

• The FDA's approval of the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill, in the U.S. on Thursday is a "a game changer in terms of access," Dr. Julia Cron, chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, told Axios.

Driving the news: More than 100 countries provide over-the-counter birth control pills without a prescription.

• But similar progress has buckled in the U.S. thanks to lengthy regulatory processes and limited research in reproductive heath, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, the CEO of reproductive wellbeing nonprofit of Power to Decide, said.
• Opill was the first birth control pill to be considered by the FDA as an over-the-counter option, and it could now pave the way for more, McDonald-Mosley added.

Meanwhile, more pharmacists across the U.S. have gradually been allowed to prescribe birth control, eliminating additional trips to other providers — though still requiring an extra layer of approval.

• Arizona this month joined two dozen states — including Delaware, Nevada and Washington — and Washington, D.C. in allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

State of play: ...

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