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(NEW YORK) — Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, ending nearly five decades of a precedent that protected the constitutional right to an abortion, there has been a lot of public debate and confusion over what constitutes an abortion and what is considered legal.

Emergency contraceptive medications such as Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill, taken to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse, have also been falsely interpreted by some as a form of abortion.

With no exact consensus, some states have defined “life” as beginning at conception or fertilization — the moment egg meets sperm. Meanwhile, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) — the nation’s leading physician group for OB-GYNs — says complex medical concepts are being “misused” by state legislators.

“Conception and pregnancy are not the same thing,” said Dr. Elizabeth Schmidt, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of family planning at North Shore University Hospital in New York. “Conception is not a medically recognized term.”

But doctors say the debate about when life begins shouldn’t have any bearing on Plan B, which works to stop pregnancy even earlier in the process — before fertilization, or conception.

What is Plan B?

Plan B is a progesterone hormone, which prevents ovulation or the release of an egg when taken at the appropriate time. This effectively prevents fertilization or the meeting of the sperm and egg for pregnancy. If taken after ovulation has already occurred, Plan B has no effect and there is no evidence that it harms an already established pregnancy, according to ACOG.

“Pregnant people make progesterone, and Plan B is a type of progesterone, so it makes sense that it would have no effect on a developing embryo,” Schmidt told ABC News.

Why is it confused with abortion?

Some of the confusion may stem from the Food and Drug Administration’s own website, which explains that Plan B “may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (implantation).” The problem, experts say, is that this description is not accurate.

When the FDA first approved emergency contraception back in the late 1990s, it wasn’t totally clear how the pills prevented pregnancy, said Susan F. Wood, Ph.D., George Washington University professor and former director of the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health.

Now, she said, “new evidence [that has] been around for about 10 years now has shown that actually, Plan B works, probably essentially only through that first mechanism — blocking ovulation.”

Still, the FDA’s statement has been interpreted by some to imply abortion, resulting in objections to Plan B.

How does Plan B work?

“When used as emergency contraception, Plan B only affects ovulation,” Schmidt said. “Studies have failed to show any effect from levonorgestrel on the uterine lining when used as a one-time dose in emergency contraception.”

In a 2001 study published in Contraception, scientists looked at 45 women who were treated with short-term levonorgestrel administration — the same hormone found in Plan B — and observed no impairment in the lining of the uterus whether levonorgestrel was administered around or after ovulation. Previous studies on monkeys and rats have also failed to show a significant effect of the levonorgestrel hormone on uterine lining to prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg.

Taken collectively, this evidence suggests Plan B works primarily on the first step in the process — preventing the body from releasing an egg in the first place, or ovulating.

If the body has already released an egg prior to taking Plan B, the drug does not stop an egg from meeting sperm, and it does nothing to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.

Wood said given the current legal environment, the FDA should consider updating the language on its website “to pull Plan B out of the line of fire” from anti-abortion groups.

When reached for comment by ABC News, an FDA spokesperson did not comment directly on the language on its website but emphasized that “emergency contraception is used to reduce the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex.”

“Plan B is an extremely safe medication and there are no medical contraindications to its use. It is safer than Tylenol — which is sold over the counter without restriction,” Schmidt said.

Although contraception currently remains legal throughout the U.S., the growing abortion restrictions in the country are now bringing some forms of contraception into question.

In his concurring opinion on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that in the future, the court should reconsider other “demonstrably erroneous” precedents, including the 1965 ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, which protects the right of married couples to buy and use contraception without government restriction.

“Limiting access to any medical care can have disastrous effects on communities,” Schmidt said. “It has been shown that states with restricted access to abortion also have higher rates of maternal and infant mortality. The situation is going to get even worse by prohibiting access to emergency contraception and abortion, which will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.”

Dr. Esra Demirel is a fellow in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at NYU Langone Health and is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A French-based pharmaceutical company announced Monday that it has asked the Food and Drug Administration to sell over-the-counter birth control pills in the U.S., making it the first business to file an official application.

Perrigo’s HRA Pharma said it hopes that regulatory approval comes early next year.

“This historic application marks a groundbreaking moment in contraceptive access and reproductive equity,” Frédérique Welgryn, chief strategic operations and innovation officer at HRA Pharma, said in a statement.

“More than 60 years ago, prescription birth control pills in the U.S. empowered women to plan if and when they want to get pregnant,” Welgryn said. “Moving a safe and effective prescription birth control pill to OTC will help even more women and people access contraception without facing unnecessary barriers.”

Currently, hormone-based birth control pills require a doctor’s prescription because of health concerns such as blood clotting in some women. But most doctors say the risk is minimal for the vast majority of the population and note that pregnancy can carry its own significant health risks.

Reproductive rights advocates say an over-the-counter pill would make it easier for women without access to health care to obtain contraceptives.

“In the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we must pull out all the stops to make it easier and more affordable for everyone to secure contraception and take bold steps to protect women by ensuring that health — not politics — guides medical decisions,” said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.

The FDA did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 65.3% of women aged 15 to 49 use contraception, with 14% taking pills.

The move comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which granted people a constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had said it was a relief, calling Roe v. Wade “one of the most egregious legal and moral mistakes of the 20th century.”

The fallout from Roe’s reversal has many people worried that the Supreme Court will overturn other constitutionally protected rights.

In his concurrent opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called for the court to reconsider other cases, including Griswold v. Connecticut, which gave married couples the right to use contraception.

He also asked the court to reconsider Lawrence v. Texas, which protects the right to same-sex romantic relationships; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which establishes the right to same-sex marriage.

“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is “demonstrably erroneous,” we have a duty to “correct the error” established in those precedents,” Thomas wrote.

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Health officials are once again raising the alarm about the threat of a resurgence of COVID-19 infections across the country, as concerns grow about the new omicron subvariant, BA.5, which is now the dominant viral strain in the U.S.

The BA.5 variant, first detected in South Africa earlier this year, is currently estimated to account for more than half — 53.6% — of all new COVID-19 cases in the states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BA.5 appears to have a growth advantage over the original omicron variant, according to the World Health Organization, and scientists are closely monitoring the increase in reported cases observed in many countries across the globe.

At this time, BA.5 does not appear to have increased in severity, but officials have previously stressed that research on the new subvariant is still in its “early days,” and much remains to be learned about it.

As BA.5 spreads, a growing proportion of U.S. counties are seeing increases in infections and related hospital admissions.

Nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population is now living in a county with a high or medium community risk level for COVID-19, as defined by the CDC, federal data shows. About one-third of those people — 31.9%– are living in a high-risk community, while 41.6% are living in a medium-risk county.

A high community level suggests there is a “high potential for health care system strain” and a “high level of severe disease,” and the CDC recommends that people wear a mask in public indoor settings, including schools. A medium-risk level suggests there is “some impact on [the] health care system,” and “more people with severe disease.” Under the CDC’s official guidance, individuals considered at “increased risk” are advised to speak with their health care provider about whether to wear a mask.

Counties on both coasts — most notably in California, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon — are moving up and entering the high-risk level. In Florida, nearly every county is currently considered high risk. Puerto Rico and California currently lead the nation in new cases per capita, followed by New York City, where officials are once again urging residents to wear high-quality masks in indoor public settings and around crowds outside, amid a renewed surge of infections in the city.

“We’re currently seeing high levels of COVID-19 in NYC. To help slow the spread, all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside,” the New York City Health Department wrote in a tweet on Friday, after the city moved back into the high-risk level.

The average number of new cases across New York City is up by 25% in the last two weeks, according to federal data. City data also shows that an average of 15% of reported tests are now coming back positive, marking the highest seven-day positivity rate in months.

Nationally, the country is currently reporting an average of more than 100,000 new cases each day. However, health officials say that the total is likely significantly undercounted.

As previously reported, dozens of states have moved to shutter public testing sites, with more at-home COVID-19 tests now available in pharmacies and through the federal testing program. Most Americans are not reporting their results to officials, and, thus, experts said infection totals are likely significantly undercounted.

Last week, White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told NBC News that hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 infections are likely going undercounted.

“There’s no question in my mind we are missing the vast majority of infections right now,” Jha said. “The truth is there are probably several hundred thousand — 400,000; 500,000 infections a day happening across the country.”

The concerns over BA.5 come amid the nation’s continued push to get people vaccinated. Although the U.S. is set to roll out new bivalent vaccines in the fall, which will address omicron, millions of eligible Americans are still without their additional shots.

To date, less than half of eligible Americans — 49.5% or 108.6 million people — have received their first booster. Similarly, less than one-third — 29.5% or 42.2 million — of eligible Americans over the age of 50 have received their second booster.

Overall hospitalization numbers and death rates have yet to see a significant resurgence, though experts say metrics may also be undercounted, due to a lack of reporting from states.

As of July 5, about 34,000 patients are currently receiving care in U.S. hospitals across the country. This still marks one of the highest numbers of patients hospitalized with the virus since March.

On average, more than 5,200 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day — the highest number of daily admissions since February. Hospital admissions in the Southwest and the South are up by more than 10%, respectively, in the past week.

The average number of daily COVID-19-related deaths remains just below 300 reported each day. Totals are still much lower than during prior COVID-19 surges.

However, thousands of Americans are still losing their lives every week. Over the last seven days, the U.S. has reported nearly 2,000 deaths.

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