At Sutton's Drug Store, packages of nonprescription Plan B are behind the counter. Sutton's has carried the so-called morning after pill for several years. Only now, it is available to women 18 years and older without a prescription.
"We've had calls for it, to want to know if we do carry it," explained John Woodard, the pharmacist who owns Sutton's Drug Store. "I don't know if it's from people who want to know if they can come and get it, or whether it's just from people who want to know if we're stocking it."
In August, the FDA decided to make Plan B available as a nonprescription. Pharmacies like Sutton's have to keep it behind the counter and check buyers' IDs to make sure they are at least 18.
"It allows [women] to actually have exactly what the name is, a Plan B," said Christopher Hollis, who is with Planned Parenthood Health Systems. "It certainly opens up access to a drug that is long overdue for behind the counter usage. We know that it prevents unintended pregnancies."
But some opponents argue the pill is essentially a medical abortion, although Plan B is not the same thing as the abortion pill, RU-486. Opponents also say the morning after pill encourages frequent use, which could have risks.
"We don't give people open access to antibiotics or other things like that for similar reasons -- just because people would tend to take them way too much, and that causes problems," said Dr. Omar Hamada, who is an OB/GYN.
Back at Sutton's, pharmacist John Woodard says he has not seen much demand for the pill, but says it is available, now without a prescription.
Women under the age of 18 need a prescription to get Plan B, and one dosage costs about $40. The drug was first approved by the FDA in 1999.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 10:04 AM
