Emergency contraceptic no good if not available

The “morning-after” pill, also known as Plan B, always seems to bring to mind the Medical Arts… The “morning-after” pill, also known as Plan B, always seems to bring to mind the Medical Arts Building. For one reason or another, I usually find myself there for research purposes or to maintain my own female health. In some of the waiting rooms of the women’s health section there is a catchy poster advertising Emergency Contraception. It’s an indelible image of a man from the waist down. It reads: Use three days after opening. When I saw it yesterday morning, although it seemed like a typical day, the poster had a different effect than usual. Considering everything surrounding the morning-after pill, it wasn’t so easily dismissed as normal, routine decor. Why is the Food and Drug Administration dragging its feet as science legitimizes the safety of over-the-counter sales of Plan B? It seems that, until recently, any adult female caught in a compromising situation as a result of a faulty condom would soon be able to hand a pharmacist $30 and her stress would be alleviated. While that is technically the case in seven states, far and wide, women are obstructed with regulations that impede the morning-after pill process. In some cases, pharmacists even refuse to fill prescriptions for EC. I’m left questioning if the government really means it when they refer to Plan B as “emergency contraception.” Now, almost unexpectedly, President George Bush and the FDA are currently asking: How can the morning-after pill be regulated so that minors who are 16-years-old or younger do not misuse it? A high school religion teacher once told me, “It’s not so much the answers to questions that are important, but discovering what questions are of importance to ask.” Thus, I’ve resolved in the span of this lone column I probably won’t be able to answer the enigma of emergency contraception. After all, FDA workers have pondered the problem for what seems like the span of most of their careers – and they’re still stumped. At the very least, it’s worth analyzing because access to EC is the kind of thing that greatly impacts decisions concerning abortion and childbirth. Here are the facts. The FDA approved Plan B in 1999 to be obtained by prescription as emergency contraception. EC consists of two pills that prevent pregnancy after intercourse has taken place. This is not to be confused with the high dosed RU-486, a combination drug used to induce abortion after sperm has fertilized an egg. The fight to raise the restrictions on EC has been going on for over two years. California, followed by six other states, has allowed over-the-counter policies on this form of birth control by working around restrictions and regulating pharmacies. While Plan B is only 89 percent effective, it does not pose any scientific threat in terms of negative effects on a woman’s overall health – the only scientific worry is whether or not minors will properly follow the instructions. Thus there are no real health concerns to obstruct the FDA in passing this bill. However, where there is proposal for a bill, there are politics and self-interested actors fighting for their cause. And to the public it seems that the question of age is a relatively new tenant of the argument concerning Plan B. Age is undoubtedly a legitimate concern, especially when one can foresee the worst-case scenarios of statutory rape and pedophile cases – victims would be given such pills, though they wouldn’t be able to obtain them otherwise. However, that almost parallels the debate surrounding murder with a weapon. Is it guns that kill people or do people kill people? I would argue that people kill people. Similarly, any older female sibling, high school friend or familial relation can make Plan B accessible to a minor. Thus minors aren’t completely shielded by the restrictions on the prescription. More often than not, though, it seems that consenting adults are. As the FDA continues to stall, there are unnecessary abortions and unwanted pregnancies that could have been prevented by an expeditious Plan B.

Email Rose at sba1@pitt.edu.