> I don't think a bunch of guys presenting positions that are generally skeptical of the FDA restricting things that are generally considered safe from being sold OTC (even if not for the right reasons) are the reason that it took a long time for this to be approved to be sold OTC.
Well yeah, the men who prevented it from being OTC for so long didn't do it out of skepticism that it was safe; just like every other time women's rights have been restricted, it's about control. Concern over medical safety is just a convenient political distraction to avoid having to defend regressive social policies. If the people who rules like these actually cared about women's health, they would take into consideration that some women need medication like this for issues that aren't related to trying to avoid pregnancy when having sex. Even labeling medication "birth control" is just a way to ignore the fact that sometimes there are conditions that affect the reproductive system without a woman becoming (or trying to become) pregnant, and sometimes these medications can help with those.
Well yeah, the men who prevented it from being OTC for so long didn't do it out of skepticism that it was safe; just like every other time women's rights have been restricted, it's about control. Concern over medical safety is just a convenient political distraction to avoid having to defend regressive social policies. If the people who rules like these actually cared about women's health, they would take into consideration that some women need medication like this for issues that aren't related to trying to avoid pregnancy when having sex. Even labeling medication "birth control" is just a way to ignore the fact that sometimes there are conditions that affect the reproductive system without a woman becoming (or trying to become) pregnant, and sometimes these medications can help with those.