villa-vicencio: i cannot read the minds of the fda. those companies who are applying for the application to get an over-the-counter pill. but i can tell you -- reiterate exactly what you just said. hundreds of countries already have an over-the-counter pill and there's decades of science and 50 years of usage to show this is very, very safe, effective, and can be used over-the-counter. not totally sure why it took so long but really glad we finally got this decision. geoff: how concerned are you and your colleagues about potential legal challenges to this? dr. villa-vicencio: unfortunately, for those of us who work in reproductive health care, obgyns, midwives, family medicine providers, all of us are extremely concerned. seems like every day, there is a new court case challenging our ability to practice safe and science-based medicine. most of these court cases, most of these challenges are based in political ideology and not based in science. this over-the-counter decision by the fda is an affirmation of science and the evidence base

villa-vicencio: thank you so much for having me.ff: the fda says that nearly half of the nation's 6 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. villa-vicencio: i don't think the significance of this action can be understated. i am personally, as an obgyn, and a person who prescribes birth control and uses bir control, extraordinarily excited to see nearly 50 years of usage and decades of science being recognized by the fda in making the birth control pill, which is used by millions and millions of people across our country, more accessible. geoff: what are the biggest barriers women face in trying to access contraceptive care right now and how might this over-the-counter option address those barriers? dr. villa-vicencio: unfortunately, there are a lot of barriers that exist and it depends on where you live which is even more unfortunate. the first is the cost. the ability to get into