About freakin' time!

[gekkogecko]

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01436.html


Of couse, there is still a long way to go with this. After all, women who are under 18 are still prohibited from getting "Plan B" without a prescription; this is troubling in light of the fact that the US has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the develped world, and in view of the restriction to information on birth control widely practised in this country.

But it is a great step forward.

[Lilith]

Awesome. Thanks for pointing me to that gg.

[Aqua]

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01436.html

But it is a great step forward.
Agreed!

[Loulabelle]

Hmm....I'm not so sure that selling the morning after pill over the counter is such a good idea, to be honest.

For a start, it should be used as exactly what it says a 'Plan B' and making it readily available, may well mean people relying on it as their main method of contraception, despite the horrible side effects of the drug.

This will do nothing to make a difference to STI rates, which are rising steadily in the UK (not sure about in the US but I imagine it's pretty much the same across the board).

Also, if women are free to get this pill without too much difficulty, it may well be that they will take it incorrectly. Finding out they are pregnant and then taking it, rather than taking it within the 72 two hour time slot after intercourse. While this will not be effective as a method of abortion, might it not cause damage to the child since the pill is a massive dose of hormones in one (well technically speaking two) go?

Personally I think the 'Oops I did it again' attitude to the morning after pill is a VERY dangerous approach to the contraceptive issue and should be seen as a last resort, when your usual method of contraception has failed, or you become aware that you have missed a contraceptive pill. By making it only available on prescription it gives a doctor an opportunity to:

a) Educate the woman/couple on the kind of contraception they should be using to tackle STI prevention etc.

b) Prescribe a regular contraceptive pill, fit a coil or have the patient fitted for a cap.

c) Highlight those patients who are 'repeat users' who may need extra guidance/ assistance when it comes to pregnancy and STI prevention.

Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I was always taught, that if you didn't have a contraceptive handy, you didn't have sex. It's certainly what I plan to teach my son, not, 'well if you don't have any contraception with you, she can always get the morning after pill the next day.'

Maybe that's why I've never had to take the morning after pill and only ever used a pregnancy test when Fussy and I were actively trying to conceive......

[PantyFanatic]

That will never work Loulabelle.

You have brought far to much reason and logic to a situation spurred by 'causes' and divine self-righteousness.
;)

[Lilith]

While I understand your views Lou (and your insults PF), I am ever so grateful it is going to be available here over-the-counter. I am sure it won't be on the shelf with Tylenol but most likely will be handled in a fashion similar to psuedoephedrine is in this country. It would be lovely, and in a perfect world I am sure all people get the sort of healthcare you describe, but not in my country.

[PantyFanatic]

Looking for the diametric limits to find a center of balance was not intended as an insult.

I think the point of contention for me is when any two opinions assume the crusading banner of "what's right for me is right for you", regardless of the subject or participants. I am more interested in the reasoning than the inspiration. And I find it more difficult to accept reasoning inspired by inspiration than inspiration inspired by reasoning. Is it just a chicken/egg prospective perhaps? :shrug:

[gekkogecko]

Loullabelle,
Among the many problems with making "Plan B" available only by perscription are:
a) The "education" that is provided by *any* organization that accepts any form of fedral funding is pretty much limited by law to spouting only the accepted viewpoint of the current government. In the current atmosphere, this pretty much boils down to only repeating the propaganda of the right-wing religions that the Republican party has caved in to.

b) The number of religious theocrats masquerading as women's health-care providers, and the power they are gaining in the role of "health care" is frightening (at least to me, and I am not alone in this particular viewpoint).

Yes, there are several other problems, but these two are the ones that IMO, pose the most danger to women's lives at the present time.

[Lilith]

b) The number of religious theocrats masquerading as women's health-care providers, and the power they are gaining in the role of "health care" is frightening (at least to me, and I am not alone in this particular viewpoint).



gg, I live in an area that has had these types of "clinics" spring up in the past 10 years. The only service they actually provide is ultrasound in an effort to dissuade and bad information to intimidate people looking for medical help.

[Loulabelle]

Wow, I had no idea that things worked so radically differently in the US from the way they do in Britain!

What on earth happened to medical advice being based on medical fact?

We have huge issues with the quality of care provided by our NHS, but thankfully they are usually financial, rather than issues of the fundamental ideology of what advice and opinion medical practitioners are 'allowed' to dispense.

Thanks for this new perspective on my own country's helthcare service.....I think I should appreciate it more!

[gekkogecko]

What on earth happened to medical advice being based on medical fact?


That's a very good question, and it's one that a lot of people in this country are asking.

[LixyChick]

Wow, I had no idea that things worked so radically differently in the US from the way they do in Britain!

What on earth happened to medical advice being based on medical fact?

We have huge issues with the quality of care provided by our NHS, but thankfully they are usually financial, rather than issues of the fundamental ideology of what advice and opinion medical practitioners are 'allowed' to dispense.

Thanks for this new perspective on my own country's helthcare service.....I think I should appreciate it more!
Lou...With the new administration came a regression back to the days of back alley abortions and coat hanger remedies. We had a resurgence of wanting to reverse Roe vs. Wade (probably never waning but more agressive now). I was born in the 50's and I feel like we are reverting to the 50's values again.

Not only does this OTC pill overcome some of the reversion this country has elapsed to, but it actually gives us credit that we CAN indeed think for ourselves and we DO NOT have to have the government or health insurance companies interject themselves in to every part of our daily/private lives!

We are tired of being judged and rejected! Judged by the government and rejected by the insurance companies. Any way that can get around this surge of demeaning behavior is ok by me!

Granted...some may abuse or misunderstand the use of the pill. We can't govern everyone, but stupidity isn't all encompassing! There are many things on the OTC market (not all medicinal) that some peeps should NEVER have access to...but they do. I have faith in the youth of our country. I know we can read and I know we are educated. The label[s] will spell it all out and the over all responsible WILL lie on the consumer.


What on earth happened to medical advice being based on medical fact?
No one, as of now, that I know of, has challenged the authority of said health insurance companies...leaving them to impose their rejections more and more on every type of medical condition! I mean EVERY type...including cancer to mental health...etc. They have the right to reject any aid they deem unnecessary...and they are NOT medical professionals but merely insurance agents...saving money for their company. Our government governs NOT! We pay out the wazzoo for health insurance and the insurance company can and does reject any medical service it thinks will be served at a lesser cost with some other/lesser degree medicine, even if this medicine isn't the best for said condition.

In essence...this pill is a conquest over the naysayers in Washington and the insurance companies who have a tight hold on our health and well being!

[Cjack]

I think it's about time.
Girls under 18 can't buy it but if they need it they can get it now.

[scotzoidman]

Wow, I had no idea that things worked so radically differently in the US from the way they do in Britain!

What on earth happened to medical advice being based on medical fact?

We have huge issues with the quality of care provided by our NHS, but thankfully they are usually financial, rather than issues of the fundamental ideology of what advice and opinion medical practitioners are 'allowed' to dispense.

Thanks for this new perspective on my own country's helthcare service.....I think I should appreciate it more!
Lou, (& all our other international friends who may not be aware) at some point we in the US all went through the looking glass, & found ourselves in the bizarro world where everything is completely the opposite of what we thought it was...

[jseal]

Loulabelle,

Here is a link to the Food and Drug Administration’s public web page about Plan B (http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/planB/default.htm).

[osuche]

Freedom of choice is a very important thing...this world is populated enough without bringing kids into it who are unwanted, and subjecting moms to ridicule and difficulty.

As someone who has taken Plan B (I took my low Estrogen pill 12 hours late and I was in my fertile period about 18 months ago), while in a long term relationship, and went to the MD for it....I can say that the process to get it used to be very complicated. I had to go through an interview with a nurse and a dr in order to get the pill, and be subject to a pelvic exam (and I'd just had my annual at that same place 2 months back). I got lectured.

And then my dr perscribed NuvaRing as a better bc method, and that made up for the inconvenience. :)

Consultation can help...but honestly I don't expect that most people will want to go through the rigermorole that I had to go through to get Plan B.