AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Federal regulators today approved the nation's first over-the-counter birth control pill.

GEOFF BENNETT: The FDA signed off on Opill, a once-a-day tablet available by prescription since 1973 that will soon be readily available online and at stores nationwide.

The approval is being applauded by medical societies and women's health groups, which have pushed for the pill's wider access.

Joining us tonight to share her perspective is Dr. Jennifer Villavicencio, an OB-GYN and interim director at the Society for Family Planning.

Thank you for being with us.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Thank you so much for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: The FDA says that nearly half of the nation's six million pregnancies are unintended.

Given that and the increasing number of states that have passed abortion restrictions, help us understand what you see as the significance of this action.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: I don't think the significance of this action can be understated.

I am personally, as an OB-GYN and a person who prescribes birth control and uses birth control, extraordinarily excited to see nearly 50 years of usage and decades of science being recognized by the FDA and making the birth control pill which is used by millions and millions of people across our country more accessible.

GEOFF BENNETT: What are the biggest barriers that women face in trying to access contraceptive care right now?

And how might this over-the-counter option address those barriers?

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: So, unfortunately, there are a lot of barriers that exist.

And it depends on where you live, which is even more unfortunate.

So there first is the cost, the ability to get in to see a provider who can prescribe the birth control pill to you.

There's also the ability to navigate all of the different laws and regulations that are happening right now.

Many of them don't have to do with birth control.

But they're designed to have a chilling effect.

And so, sometimes, that impacts whether people can access birth control.

Making this incredibly safe medication that can help people determine their own reproductive destiny and plan their own lives, making it over the counter is an incredible step in giving people an opportunity to take control back in their own lives.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tell us more about this medication.

You just described it as safe.

I mentioned it's been on the market for some 50 years now.

Tell us more about its effectiveness and what side effects there might be.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: It's an incredibly effective medication that contains a hormone called norgestrel, which is a type of progesterone.

And it is incredibly safe and for most people tends to not have many side effects.

I often talk to my patients about birth control, and that sometimes it takes trying a few.

It's a little bit like dating.

Got to try a few before you find the right one.

But this particular one works really well for a lot of people.

And I'm very excited that this is the first birth control pill that we're going to see over the counter.

GEOFF BENNETT: The manufacturer in a phone call with reporters said that Opill will be available in stores and online in early 2024.

They declined to share the price.

Setting that aside, there are more than 100 countries that have over-the-counter birth control pills right now.

What took the U.S. so long?

Were the concerns medical?

Were they political?

Give us a sense of what the delay was.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: So I can't read the minds of the FDA or those companies who are applying for the application to get an over-the-counter pill.

What I can tell you is that -- reiterate exactly what you just said.

Hundreds of companies -- countries -- excuse me -- already have an over-the-counter pill.

And there's decades of science and nearly 50 years of usage to show that this is very, very safe, effective, and can be used over the counter.

So, not totally sure why it took so long, but really, really glad that we finally got this decision.

GEOFF BENNETT: How concerned are you and your colleagues about potential legal challenges to this?

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: So, unfortunately, for those of us who work in reproductive health care, OB-GYNs, midwives, family planning providers, family medicine providers, all of us are extremely concerned.

It seems like, every single day, there's a new court case that's challenging our ability to practice safe and science-based medicine.

And most of these court cases, most of these challenges are based in political ideology, and they're not based in science.

This over the counter decision by the FDA is an affirmation of science and the evidence base that has existed for decades.

And so I'm hoping that we will see the courts respect that science and let doctors and patients work together to see and make sure that they have the best health care that they can have.

GEOFF BENNETT: To your point about how every day it seems like there's a new court ruling, a new court case, how has that changed the work that you do?

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: I joke sometimes with my husband and my friends that I have had to become an armchair lawyer, in addition to being an expert in OB-GYN and complex family planning.

I am a surgeon.

I deliver babies.

I prescribe birth control and do cancer screenings.

But I have also had to become incredibly savvy about the court system and understand and be plugged in with a lot of organizations that are interpreting these laws.

I recognize that my ability to practice safe, evidence-based care and medicine and to give my patients what it is that they deserve is threatened on a regular basis.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jennifer Villavicencio, we thank you for your time and for your perspectives tonight.

DR. JENNIFER VILLAVICENCIO: Thank you so much.