Approval of Over the Counter Sale of "Plan B" September 1, 2006 The approval of the over the counter sale of "Plan B," sometimes known as the "Morning After Pill," represents a tragic betrayal of women. The non-prescription availability of this drug which has significant potential for serious side effects raises the question, "Why do women deserve less governmental protections than others?" The total dosage of levonorgestrel (the active ingredient in "Plan B") taken over twelve hours is six times the daily dosage found in a number of oral contraceptives which are sold by prescription only. All one needs to do is note the potential side effects of such a drug to realize that the health of women is not the driving force for this FDA approval. Women taking this drug without medical oversight may be subjected to serious side effects such as future ectopic pregnancies. Women deserve better. Supposedly there will be monitoring in place to assure that only teenagers eighteen years of age or older will have over the counter access to this drug. Parents' accounts of the difficulty of limiting their children's access to cigarettes and alcohol demonstrate how difficult it will be to enforce such provisions. Parents also deserve better. There are many euphemisms used to describe the manner of action of levonorgestrel, from the "Morning After Pill" to "Emergency Contraception." Both terms misrepresent the facts. Contraceptives are to prevent conception. Science tells us that conception occurs upon the union of a mother's egg and a father's sperm. Such a union can occur within minutes of intercourse. There is only a very small window of opportunity for the "Morning After Pill" to act as a contraceptive by the suppression of ovulation - if it is taken just prior to the time a woman ovulates. Otherwise, the "Morning After Pill" has great potential of being an abortifacient by making the womb inhospitable to the new human being engendered by his or her parents. The most vulnerable of human life becomes disposable. Each of us as a member of this society has the right to expect from our government better protections of human life and dignity. What does the approval of the over the counter sale of this drug say about us as a society? Is the most intimate act between a man and a woman, the natural outcome of which frequently is the creation of a new and unique human being, nothing more than a biological exercise with no responsibilities attached to it? What about the human being brought about through such an act? Does that human person have no rights once engendered by the act of his or her parents? The National Catholic Bioethics Center receives the news of the FDA approval of non-prescription distribution of "Plan B" with great regret. We all become vulnerable when compromises are made in the processes which have been established by our government to ensure drug safety; by our government which has been charged with protecting its members, especially the most vulnerable. John M. Haas is the publisher of The National Catholic Bioethics Center's publications, and Edward J. Furton is the Editor in Chief. Susan Naab is the Managing Editor and Rebecca M. Robinson is the Production Manager. Marie T. Hillard is DIrector of Bioethics and Public Policy. Subscription information for both publications can be found at the Center's website: www.ncbcenter.org, or by calling the Center at 215.877.2660. |
