Over-the-Counter Birth-Control Pills Face Challenges in the US

A French drugmaker wants to make its contraceptive the first of its kind for sale in the US, an over-the-counter birth-control product that would make bring the country up to speed with more than 100 others that make such pills accessible without a prescription.

HRA Pharma, a unit of generic drug maker Perrigo Co., asked US regulators Monday to approve Opill for over-the-counter sales. Known as a “minipill” because it includes only the hormone progestin and no additional estrogen, it has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for prescription sales for almost five decades.

Pills are the most popular form of contraception among women ...