Morning-after
pill causes controversy
By
Ellie Behling
The Post
ATHENS,
Ohio (U-Wire) -- In December the Food and
Drug Administration voted overwhelmingly
23 to four to recommend over-the-counter
approval for Plan B, or the morning after
pill. But on Thursday the FDA went against
the recommendation by denying over-the-counter
status for the pill.
There
was not sufficient data on the use of emergency
contraception in girls under the age of
16, said Dr. Steven Galson, acting director
for the Center of Drug Evaluation for the
FDA, in a conference call.
Although
over-the-counter distribution was not approved
Thursday, Galson said the administration
is not “shutting the door” on
Barr Research, the sponsors of the application.
“If
the product is approved for non-prescription
use, it would dramatically increase access
to all contraceptives,” said Galson,
who made the final decision to reject the
application. “We think this is very
important to public health.”
While
advocates for reproductive rights were outraged
by the decision, conservative organizations
such as the Concerned Women for America
view it as a victory.
“We
have opposed the approval for Plan B by
the FDA because it would put emergency contraception
as a primary form of contraception,”
said Rebecca Riggs, press secretary for
the CWA. “The availability of emergency
contraception next to the toothpaste and
candy bars is a bad idea.”
Debbie
Castro, west coast campus director at the
Feminist Majority Foundation, said she will
continue to send the message that “anti-women’s
reproductive rights cannot win.” Through
the Feminist Majority Foundation, 70,000
e-mails, petition signatures and letters
from supporters of over-the-counter emergency
contraception have already been mailed to
the FDA.
Plan
B, or levonorgestrel, is a series of two
pills and is available to women who have
had unprotected intercourse or suspected
contraceptive failure. It delays or inhibits
ovulation and fertilization for up to 72
hours after unprotected intercourse, according
to an informational flier from Hudson Health
Center.
It
is currently only available with a prescription
in Ohio and most other states.
Plan
B reduces the expected number of pregnancies
by 89 percent, but is not effective once
the process of implantation has begun.
Plan
B is offered at Hudson, and sometimes as
an advanced prescription, said Patty DeBruin,
director of nursing at Hudson.
It
costs $10 at Hudson and $25 to $50 at Planned
Parenthood.
Freshman
Nikki Kasmer said she has used emergency
contraception twice through Planned Parenthood.
The first time she and her boyfriend did
not use protection because they were drunk.
The second time the condom broke.
Kasmer
said she experienced no side effects, although
she was warned about headaches and stomachaches.
Using
emergency contraception was “better
than having an abortion,” said Kasmer.
Planned
Parenthood offers emergency contraception
on a walk-in basis, said Heather Hintz,
director of health services at Planned Parenthood
of Southeast Ohio. The largest group that
receives emergency contraceptives is ages
18-24.
Emergency
contraception has the potential to reduce
half the 3 million unintended pregnancies
in this country and half of U.S. abortions,
or about 500,000, according to an online
news release by the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
However,
many women in the U.S. believe emergency
contraception is like an abortion, though
it is not classified medically as an abortifacient,
or an agent that induces abortion.
“Even
though it’s not considered to be killing
a baby in the medical system, it depends
upon the person and how they’re informed,”
said freshman Meghan Burke, a Catholic.
“From the moment of conception the
baby is alive in you.”
Burke
said rape is the only reason she would agree
with the use of emergency contraception.
But
even in cases of rape, Kristin Kopp, media
relations manager for Good Samaritan Hospital
in Dayton, said the hospital does not use
emergency contraception. “Our policies
are consistent with our Catholic teachings,”
she said.
At
Hudson emergency contraception is only available
on nights and weekends through the Sexual
Assault Nurse Examiners program. This 24-hour
service is free.
Emergency
contraception is 95 percent effective within
the first 24 hours, Castro said.
“The
availability of emergency contraception
over-the-counter allows more timely use,
eliminating barriers such as limitations
of physicians’ office hours or pharmacists
who refuse to dispense EC for moral reasons,”
Hintz said.
Both
Hudson and Planned Parenthood only offer
daytime hours, but Planned Parenthood is
looking to make nighttime and weekend hours
in the future, Hintz said.
“A
very small percentage of college health
centers have weekend hours. When sex happens
on a college campus it generally tends to
be on the weekend,” said Castro.
“Access
delayed is access denied.”
Emergency
contraception is also available at O’Bleness
Hospital in the emergency room, according
to the physician’s discretion after
an examination and interview, said Barbara
Lanier-Jones, assistant nurse manager.
More
than 70 medical organizations promote emergency
contraception over-the-counter, said Castro.
However, some pharmacies, such as Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc., refuse to distribute emergency
contraception.
“It
is our policy to refer that customer to
another pharmacy in the community that can
meet the customer’s need in a timely
manner -just as we would for any other customer-requested
product we do not stock,” said spokeswoman
Danette Thompson.
Riggs
said she fears that if emergency contraception
would become available over-the-counter,
women would abuse it, treating it like a
primary form of birth control. It could
also cause health risks, she said.
Castro
said that restrictions against emergency
contraception are part of an “underlying
cultural judgment in this country that women
shouldn’t have sex.”
Linsey
Pecikonis, Women’s Affairs Commissioner
at Ohio University, said she agrees that
there is a stigma attached to emergency
contraception.
“For
people to assume that it’s for bad
behavior is a problem,” she said.
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