We freed the pill: The history of the coalition behind the first-ever OTC birth control pill in the US

Opill, the first-ever over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill in the United States began hitting shelves in March 2024, a historic moment for reproductive health! On May 22, 2024, Free the Pill hosted a webinar sharing the history of our coalition—a group that worked for two decades to make the first-ever OTC birth control pill a reality in the United States! Panelists discussed how principled partnerships, reproductive justice values, and a youth-adult partnership model were key to ensuring this Rx-to-OTC switch was a movement-driven win and set Free the Pill’s approach to movement-building apart.