Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of women’s health for more than 90 years — including helping millions of women gain access to the birth control pill for the past 50 years. 

May 9, 2010, marks the 50th anniversary of the FDA Advisory Committee’s recommendation that the FDA approve the sale of the birth control pill. It was that recommendation which paved the way for FDA approval of an oral contraceptive for the first time on June 23, 1960. 

The pill has made a tremendous impact on the lives of women and men around the globe. It is one of the most transformative medical breakthroughs of the past 100 years. Today, 19 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 use the pill and more than 60 percent of women between 15 and 44 use birth control.