Health
FDA Considers "Plan-B" Morning-After Pill
By D.L. McCracken
Jan 17, 2005, 11:15

One year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied a pharmaceutical company's request to sell a non-prescription morning-after contraceptive pill named "Plan-B", the regulatory agency is considering a reversal of their original decision.

Plan B, if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex greatly reduces the chance of pregnancy by preventing implantation of the fertilized egg in a women's uterus. It contains higher doses of the hormone progestin than in regular birth-control pills and women are supposed to take two tablets 12 hours apart. The FDA had previously expressed concerns on the safety of the drug to young women under the age of 16.

In response to the agency's safety questions the drug company, Barr Pharmaceuticals revised their request to include the provision that the pill be made available only to women over the age of 16 without a doctor's prescription.

Supporters of easier access to the contraceptive pill say that the number of abortions will decrease because more woman will be able to obtain the pill in time to prevent pregnancy. Those who oppose the easy accessibility of the drug say that promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases will increase.

A recent report published in the Journal of The American Medical Association (AMA) stated that in a study of 2000 women, emergency contraception had no bearing on the degree to which women have unprotected sex.

A decision by the FDA is expected next week.

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