This bill would end the FDA’s power to say a drug must be prescription-only, and instead leave that decision to each state. Six months after it becomes law, federal rules about “prescription drugs” would point to state rules instead. One exception: the federal government could still require a prescription for any drug used to end a pregnancy. A plain-language summary from the legislative library says the same: the FDA’s prescription authority is generally removed, except for drugs intended to terminate a pregnancy.

In everyday terms, this could mean many medicines might be sold without a federal prescription requirement, depending on your state’s laws. States would decide which drugs need a prescription. The federal government could still keep prescription rules for abortion-related drugs .

• Who is affected: patients, pharmacies, doctors, drug makers, and state health regulators.
• What changes: federal prescription-only rules end; state law decides; federal exception remains for drugs used to end a pregnancy .
• When: changes start 6 months after the bill becomes law.