After years of FDA stalling, Plan B may finally become available
without a prescription. Plan B (levonorgestrel) is a
highly-concentrated birth control hormone that nearly always prevents
pregnancy if taken within the first 3-5 days after sexual intercourse.
It is not an abortion pill, and cannot terminate a pregnancy; it
prevents actual fertilization of the egg and implantation of the egg
in the uterus, both of which take place before pregnacy begins and
before new DNA is formed.
The new regulations, if approved, would allow those 18 and up to buy
Plan B behind the counter without a prescription--but they would have
to ask their pharmacist for it by name, and pharmacists are prohibited
from dispensing the drug to minors.
Anti-abortion activists have consistently blocked Plan B, and
information about Plan B, under the principle that reducing the risk
of unintended pregnancies encourages premarital sex. So far, this
strategy has been remarkably successful; a recent study found that
only 8% of women know what Plan B is for and can distinguish it from
RU-486, the abortion pill. Because of this, most women who end up with
unintended pregnancies that they don't want to carry to term are aware
of only one option: abortion. Nice going, fellas.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 9:59 AM
