Susan F. Wood, former assistant commissioner of women’s health at the Food and Drug Administration, wrote a Washington Post commentary that nicely articulated why the Bush administration’s holdup on making Plan B available over the counter risks more than adult women’s access to that emergency contraceptive. Suggesting that the “only connection this pill has with abortion is that it has the potential to prevent the need for one,” Wood worried about the fate of the FDA’s reputation “as a body that sets the bar very high when it comes to scientific evidence and integrity” and wondered: “Why would the administration risk such a reputation over this?” It’s not just a mystery. For those of us who care about the woman who needs this pill tonight, it’s also an outrage.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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13 Comments
If you do a google search, it’s quite easy to find the number of regular birth control pills to take to have the same effect as Plan B. It’s all the same hormones, just packaged differently.While I worry that people often confuse the morning after pill with RU-486, and this mistaken belief is what fuels opposition, I also have to ask: Why would we keep birth control pills strictly available with a prescription only, but allow Plan B to be sold over the counter when they contain the exact same thing? Is is just because the directions for Plan B are easier to follow? That doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to make one over the counter and the other one not…
The way the FDA has handled the morning after pill leads me to question other decisions by them.
What is the criteria for a medication to pass or not pass onto the public?
Is it how much money the manufacturers donate to the republican party?
Is it how many lobbyists the manufacturers have in play?
I have trouble believing the medications that pass don’t have political issues pushing them along.
How many good medications are shelved and medications with higher risks are passed?
Actually, I think that makes a fairly good reason. A 2 course dose of plan B is far safer in terms of birth control side effects than a long term course. The plan B side effects are mild discomforts (no deaths or serious complications), and the timing is important. There are increased risk of drug interactions, risk of thrombosis, increased blood pressure, among others for long term use of the pill. Of course, the real reason the pill is prescription is that it keeps sexually active women coming in for their yearly exams for stds. I think plan B will be far too expensive for people to use as their birth control of choice.
Two words: Big Pharma
Heh, right again, KSFG!
Big Pharma + right-wing fundies (against contraception) + conservative Catholics (ditto) = a winning issue for Bush.
The confluence of big money and right-wing conviction, oh happy day for Team Bush!
Tara,”If you do a google search, it’s quite easy to find the number of regular birth control pills to take to have the same effect as Plan B.”This is something that needs to be publicized! How ’bout a campaign to get this information to women everywhere, especially in North Dakota! If the fundies can pressure pharmacists into not providing Plan B, then women need to take alternatives where they can!
South Dakota!
non carus
I agree, Jed. I think the only problem is with women who aren’t on hormonal contraceptives at all. Is it really safe to make available a massive dose of normal BCPs for these women who have never talked to a doctor about the risks and side effects of artificial hormones?That’s what worries me. Blood clots and strokes are serious!
At Planned Parenthood in Wichita, you just need to schedule one complete exam, and then you can call ahead and pick up Plan B anytime there’s an oops, without any consultation or delay. You have to have an exam every year to “renew” this benefit, but I think in this case, everyone wins. Women have quick access to Plan B, without compromising their health. I’d like to see something like this in all pharmacies.
Tara,Quite true, all things being equal. Unfortunately, some people are doing everything they can to make things unequal.When the powers that be outlaw Plan B, women will find ways around it, just as they did before Roe v. Wade. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, a black market in smuggled and home-cooked RU-486 is inevitable, along with all the old abortion methods. You’d think these religious leaders would learn from experience what happens when needed or wanted things are prohibited, but they still believe that all they need is a law!
Jed, do you think any of these laws are aimed at prevention? I think just punishment.
Farm Gal,I think these people truly believe that they can stop anything they don’t like by passing a law. They didn’t learn a thing from prohibition or the war on drugs. Further, since they are absolutely right, anybody that suffers from their laws must be wrong, and therefore damned to hell anyway!
This is my version of why regular BC pills won’t go over the counter but it’s okay for Plan B to go over the counter. They ARE NOT the same hormones…Plan B only contains Progestin and BC pills contain both Progestin AND Estrogen. It’s the Estrogen in the BC pills that require the need for a women to have regular exams…depending on their lifestyle – their age, whether or not they smoke, history of blood pressure issues or migraines would increase a women’s risk of severe and deadly side effects from birth control pills. If a women were to develop a breast lump they would be taken off of BC pills because the estrogen in them could cause a cancerous tumor to grow at a more rapid rate…these things need to be monitored regularly and could change year to year. So this is why Plan B can go over the counter…the risks are much lower and they aren’t being taken on a regular daily basis. I get so aggrevated with all this talk about Plan B causing abortions…people are so ignorant and feel the need to spew their nonsense to the rest of the world. There are also groups that believe birth control pills cause monthly abortions which is probably one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. And the worst part is the people who believe these things are just continually reproducing and bringing more and more ignorance into this world…just what we need!!!!!