Today an article by Gina Kolata in the New York Times reports that two FDA advisory committees recommended that Plan B — the so—called morning after pill — to be sold over the counter (OTC). Similar preparations have long been available over the counter in Europe. The approval of these emergency contraceptives, or "EC's", is a kind of Pandora's box with unpredictable effects in the US.

On the one hand, if there is a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions, that would be a great benefit. On the other hand, there is genuine concern that widespread use will lead teenagers especially to taking greater risks with their sexual behavior. There are already reports from Washington state, one of the five states that has already approved over—the—counter EC's, that chlamydia infection is up 20%. Also, it is not 100% effective, and may lead users into a false sense of security.

To my mind, a very important consideration is that women need to have full informed consent in all matters of reproductive health before putting anything in their bodies that might have permanent repercussions.

About one—third of American women have said that they do not want to use forms of contraception that could act in a way to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus, which is one of ways that EC's work. To these women, this is an early abortion. There has been a concerted effort for decades by abortion advocates at high levels, in such institutions as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the New England Journal of Medicine, to manipulate the facts and conceal the reality that a number of types of contraception actually cause the expulsion of early embryos. At the very least, women have a right to know this about EC's before using them.

Posted by Dr. Mary 12 17 03