There’s every indication that the Food and Drug Administration is struggling over whether to allow the so-called morning-after pill to be sold over the counter. After an advisory panel overwhelmingly recommended that move in December, the FDA, under intense pressure from conservative and religious groups, recently announced that it would delay the decision for 90 days to gather more information on the pill.
Last month an Illinois House committee approved a proposal that would allow such pills, which prevent pregnancy in the first hours and days after intercourse, to be sold without a doctor’s prescription by Illinois pharmacists. Unlike the broad FDA plan that would allow the pills to be stocked on drug store shelves, under the proposed Illinois law the pills would still be kept behind the pharmacy counter.
Several states already allow pharmacists to sell the pills without a doctor’s prescription, and Illinois should join them. Absent FDA approval of over-the-counter sales–the best outcome–the state should be doing everything it can to lower the barriers that prevent women from using safe and effective morning-after pills. The potential benefits are significant. By avoiding unwanted pregnancies at the earliest possible stage, the pill can reduce the number of abortion procedures that are performed.
In recent months the debate over the FDA proposal has veered from science and policy into the realm of religion and abortion politics. Some supporters fear that even with the lopsided advisory committee vote, the FDA will reject the recommendation.
That would be a shame. The morning-after pill, first approved in 1998, is essentially safe and effective with minimal side effects, the FDA has said. The “Plan B” brand pill, which is under FDA scrutiny, contains a higher dose of the same hormones found in regular birth control pills. The pill is most effective if taken within 24 hours of intercourse, although it’s still largely effective up to 72 hours. In some instances, it delays ovulation and prevents fertilization of an egg. In other instances, it prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus.
Some argue that since a doctor’s prescription is required for birth control pills, it should also be required for morning-after pills. But the nature of emergency contraception suggests that a doctor might not be readily available to write a prescription.
What also worries many opponents is that the morning-after pill would be more available to teenagers, without parental consent or a prescription. That’s a real concern. The availability of the morning-after pill will not, and should not, change the messages to teens from parents, mentors and other adults: Do not engage in sex until you are mature enough to assess and to handle the physical, emotional and moral ramifications of that. Do not engage in unsafe sex. The morning-after pill is not a routine substitute for birth control; it does not protect you from sexually transmitted diseases.
Will the pill encourage unprotected sex, particularly among teens? That seems unlikely, given that condoms are as readily available now over the counter. Whatever risk there might be is significantly outweighed by the potential benefit of reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortion procedures.
That’s why it’s time for Illinois to act, even if the FDA doesn’t.
