A Step In The Right Direction.

“Morning-After Pill Gets Fed Panel Backing
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By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON - Emergency contraception — the morning-after pill — should be available without a prescription, on pharmacy shelves next to the aspirin and cough medicine, government advisers said Tuesday.


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FDA Debates Sale of Morning-After Pill
(AP Video)


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The nation's largest gynecologists group had urged the move, saying it would greatly increase women's ability to get the pills in time to prevent pregnancy: within 72 hours of rape, contraceptive failure or just not using birth control.


Used widely, emergency contraception could cut in half the nation's 3 million unintended pregnancies each year, and in turn prevent hundreds of thousands of abortions, proponents told scientific advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites).


"There is a public health imperative to increase access to emergency contraception," said Dr. Vivian Dickerson, president-elect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.


The FDA's advisers agreed, on a 23-4 vote, that the Plan B morning-after pill should be sold over the counter. A key consideration, they cautioned, would be clearer wording on the package so that women understand:


_Use it as soon as possible after unprotected sex. Although it's highly effective for 72 hours — cutting a woman's chance of getting pregnant by up to 89 percent — it works best in the first 24 hours.


_Like other hormonal contraceptives, it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases.


_It is a backup contraceptive, and should not be used instead of routine birth control.


Cost could deter some women from using emergency contraception too regularly. Each one-time-use pack today costs $20 to $30, about as much as a month's worth of regular birth control pills. It's not clear if the over-the-counter price would change.


Manufacturer Barr Laboratories promised a massive consumer education campaign, including a 24-hour hot line for advice on using the drug.


The FDA isn't bound by its advisers' recommendations but usually follows them.


Commissioner Mark McClellan said Tuesday that the FDA would make a final decision on the morning-after pill in "a matter of months."


Asked whether political considerations would be taken into account, McClellan said, "We have a lot of information coming in. It's very much a science-based process."


Morning-after pills have been sold by prescription in this country since 1998 under the brand names Plan B and Preven. Makers sought to sell only Plan B over the counter.


The FDA says emergency contraception is safe, having been used by millions of women here and abroad with few side effects. The question for nonprescription use, the agency (news - web sites) says, is whether women will understand how and when to use it without professional advice.


FDA's advisers were persuaded by a study of 585 women that found more than 90 percent correctly took the first dose of Plan B in time after reading the box. A second dose is supposed to be taken 12 hours later, and 73 percent took that dose on schedule. Most others were a few hours off, although several of FDA's advisers said that shouldn't lessen the effectiveness.


Some advisers wanted restrictions on teen access to nonprescription Plan B, arguing that there wasn't enough study of the drug in minors. Also, "I'm concerned there will be an exploitation of young women's fears about becoming pregnant," and thus they'll use it more than necessary, said adviser Dr. Susan Crockett, a Texas gynecologist who opposed the nonprescription switch.





The FDA responded that there are no age restrictions on prescription Plan B, and it couldn't enforce any on an over-the-counter version. Other advisers said teenagers in particular should avoid pregnancy.

To improve access, five states already allow women to buy the morning-after pill directly from certain pharmacists without a prescription, so-called "behind the counter" sales. Those states are: Washington, California, Alaska, Hawaii and New Mexico.

The FDA should not require pharmacists to dispense Plan B, most advisers agreed.

Morning-after pills are higher doses of the hormones in regular birth control pills. If a woman already is pregnant, they have no effect. They work by preventing ovulation or fertilization, and possibly by interfering with implantation of a fertilized egg into the uterus, the medical definition of pregnancy.

Consequently, emergency contraception hasn't proved nearly as controversial as RU-486 (news - web sites), the abortion pill.

It does have critics who oppose any interference with a fertilized egg, and the debate drew dozens of proponents and critics into sometimes angry discussion Tuesday that occasionally veered into the morality of contraception.

Women who use emergency contraception show an "inability to control themselves in sexual situations," said Jennifer Taylor of the anti-abortion Human Life International.

Other critics bemoaned teenage access to emergency contraception, and argued that broader access for everyone might discourage routine birth control.

Proponents argue there's no evidence that access to emergency contraception makes women more careless about regular birth control.

"Please do not insult our intelligence or belittle us," said Linda Freeman, who told of desperately calling New York City clinics before one agreed to phone in a prescription for her without a $150 doctor visit that she couldn't afford. "We must be allowed to make reproductive decisions for ourselves."


8)”

“Don't let GWB find out about this. Hopefully noone will get the Supreme Court involved either.”

“in ANY given situation, ppl are less careful when they have a safety net”

“very true. most tightrope walkers wouldn't attempt backflips if they didn't have a net down below.”

“I'm staying away from this one.”

“Party on, Garth.”

“this wouldn't be any sane person's safety net...those things make you bleed like a stuck pig and puke your guts out. happy breakfast!
:-)”

“From what I've read about it, Lyra hit the nail on the head here. Allowing this item on the shelves, combined with education aboutthe product, may just be beneficial in lots of cases.”

“From what I've read about it, Lyra hit the nail on the head here. Allowing this item on the shelves, combined with education aboutthe product, may just be beneficial in lots of cases.”

“I wonder what this might do to the number of AIDS cases? I think it is a good idea for rape cases or when the rubber breaks but I think too many people may try to use it as the birth control rather than actually using the birth control.”

“once again, if you used it as regular birth control, you'd never feel well enough to Do It again, LOL!”

“Stop being so romantic, lyra!”

“I'm used to my partner puking after sex....”

“This is great news for those of us who love personal freedom. F*ck anti-choicers and their anti-constitutional views. Scumbags.”

“i think Nigal is the romantic here... :-D”

“I didn't read the whole article and don't really care about the arguments, but the morning after pill is available for free in local clinics and in high schools in my part of the world (Quebec, Canada). It doesn't seem to have changed the world, fewer pregnant teens, perhaps and I guess fewer abortions.”

“I suport this much, much more than the options at the other end of the spectrum...inducing partial labor, sucking out the brains caving in the head, and then birthing it for the trash can. This is a good thing.”

“I think it's a good thing too. Having methods of birth control available isn't going to cause teenagers to suddenly have sex if they aren't already. Once the hormones are raging, birth control is last on everyone's minds!”

“It's like those damn sex bracelets. The anti's insist that if the bracelets are banned from school, then teenage sex rates will decline. Friggin' morons!”

“Same with dress codes!”

“Sex bracelets?”

“Here's a link

Bracelts”

“Colored bracelets that are supposed to mean different sex acts according to the color. However, most kids say it's BS and the Snopes site shows it's really an urban legend. The Right Wingers haven't picked up on that yet and they're all fretting!”

“Thanks. (Weird).”

“Stay away from the kids with the BROWN ones.”

“And for the sake of public safety, stay away from hikers with their pants down around their ankles...”

“does anyone else think it is stragne that Treebeard had a link to sex braclets 2 minute after Gremlin asked what they are?

What color you have on Tree? Brown?”

“lol...but he does have a teenaged daughter, and like a good dad should, he tries to keep up on this stuff.”

“Oh Jeez i just looked at the color chart! I didn't mean anything by the color choice Tree.”

“No offense taken, Lt. Matter of fact, let's go hiking. You first!”

“lmao Lt - too late now - surely you had to be a little suspicious about the brown one.”

“I thought it would match his bark.

Just keep your hiking stick to yourself Tree!”

“lmao, Lt!”

“Well... at least I know what tossed salad refers to now.”

“y'all nasty!”