WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from contraception's gatekeepers could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon.

Meanwhile, in El Paso, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Those researchers found that over nine months those women stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso.

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Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org