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 (SANE) 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.
Over 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
