Morning After Pill Fiasco
I read on CNN today that the FDA postponed its decision on the OTC status of the "morning after pill." The FDA has stated that it would be safe for adults as an OTC drug; however they are concerned about teenagers accessing the drug. Before I step on my soap box, allow me to discuss the "morning after pill" and its major differences from RU-486, the abortion pill - because contrary to popular belief, they are NOT the same. Plan B is the morning after pill. It basically is a progestin - which is one of the ingredients in birth control pills. (Regular birth control pills, with the exception of the mini-pill, are a combination of an estrogen and a progestin.) Plan B works by one of two mechanisms. First, it can prevent the release of an egg from the ovary. Pretty simple concept - no egg, no pregnancy. Second, it can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg into the side of the uterus. Another simple concept - no implantation, no pregnancy. It is important to know that Plan B does not affect a fertilized egg that has already implanted into the uterus wall. Once you are pregnant, Plan B will not work. It only prevents pregnancy. This is why it is not the abortion pill. It is no different than taking birth control pills. Birth control pills prevent pregnancy by preventing ovulation, thickening cervical mucus (thus making it more difficult for sperm to enter the uterus), and change the endometrium to make implantation of an egg more difficult. Wow - that sounds a lot like Plan B. So...if you aren't opposed to birth control pills, you shouldn't be opposed to Plan B. I work with a pharmacist that is adamantly opposed to Plan B - but not too birth control. Why? I chalk it up to ignorance. He just doesn't know the similarities and equates Plan B with RU-486.
So, how do I feel about Plan B going OTC? As a pharmacist, I have mixed feelings. Our culture already feels that there is a pill for every ill. Teenagers already think the only possible consequence of sex is pregnancy. I fear that placing Plan B in the OTC section will cause recklessness among teenagers. If you think you may be pregnant, you should see a physician. As a woman, I think the "pharmacist conscience clause" bullshit makes it a necessity to have Plan B in the OTC section. I fear that if I would ever require the pill, I would have a hard time finding it in my small town. The pharmacy I am employed at stocks it - but whenever CF works, it mysteriously disappears. It can usually be found hiding behind the hydroxychloroquine bottles. The XYZ stocks it; however I know for a fact that Wal-Mart refuses to sell it or even stock it. It goes against their "good family values." These are the same "good family values" that allow women who work for their company to not progress up the corporate ladder and keep their employees on welfare. Wal-Mart is the dirt on my shoe - but that's a totally seperate topic. :) Basically the pharmacist in me says, "Plan B should require a prescription.", but the woman in me says, "Put the shit over-the-counter and stop treating me like it's 1950."
So, how do I feel about Plan B going OTC? As a pharmacist, I have mixed feelings. Our culture already feels that there is a pill for every ill. Teenagers already think the only possible consequence of sex is pregnancy. I fear that placing Plan B in the OTC section will cause recklessness among teenagers. If you think you may be pregnant, you should see a physician. As a woman, I think the "pharmacist conscience clause" bullshit makes it a necessity to have Plan B in the OTC section. I fear that if I would ever require the pill, I would have a hard time finding it in my small town. The pharmacy I am employed at stocks it - but whenever CF works, it mysteriously disappears. It can usually be found hiding behind the hydroxychloroquine bottles. The XYZ stocks it; however I know for a fact that Wal-Mart refuses to sell it or even stock it. It goes against their "good family values." These are the same "good family values" that allow women who work for their company to not progress up the corporate ladder and keep their employees on welfare. Wal-Mart is the dirt on my shoe - but that's a totally seperate topic. :) Basically the pharmacist in me says, "Plan B should require a prescription.", but the woman in me says, "Put the shit over-the-counter and stop treating me like it's 1950."
posted by ahsirt at 7:55 PM
3 Comments:
Opposition to Plan B comes from the fact that the life of the new human being starts before he or she implants. Plan B doesn't prevent pregnancy if it prevents implantation; it prevents the pregnant woman's body from nurturing the embryo the way it's designed to. It's one thing to try to head off the egg before the sperm get to it. It's another thing to try to head off the embryo before it can implant. And yet another to know that the embryo's there and deliberately bring about its death. That's why you're getting mixed messages from folks who oppose abortion. Plan B and the Pill are problematic because they are neither one thing nor another. They're intended as contraception, but can inadvertently kill. That's a moral quagmire that it's disturbing to watch people take lightly.
Actually Plan B and oral contraceptives have the same mechanisms of action. Birth control pills can also prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg into the side of the uterus. Birth control pills alter the lining of the uterus making it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in ths side. Plan B does the same. Thus, if you are opposed to Plan B, you should be opposed to birth control. You can't be opposed to one and not to the other.
The heart of this matter is - when does life begin? The Roman Catholic view on this is that life begins at conception. Thus, if you even attempt to prevent the union of sperm and egg, you are morally wrong. To me, life is the ability to survive in our world without the aid of another human or machine. The earliest a fetus is viable is 6 months gestation. Before 6 months, the lungs have not formed properly and birth at this point would result in death. When a woman goes into premature labor, she is immediately started on IV steroids and labor is attempted to be delayed for 48 hours. The steroid infusion stimulates the formation of surfactant in the fetal lungs - thus allowing them to inflate upon birth. If labor cannot be delayed for the steroid infusion, the fetus will likely die shortly after birth. Thus, it is my view that life does not begin until life can be sustained. I therefore must agree to disagree with you that birth control pills and Plan B kill.
The fact of the matter is that every fertilized egg is not assured of becoming a human being. Therefore, if Plan B stops the process after fertilization but before implatation, who is to say that the fertilized egg would eventually be a human being? Even if the fertilized egg became and embryo and then a fetus, there is no guarantee that the end result would be a live birth. Therefore, we're dealing with probabilities and not certainties. So, who says the line should be drawn at fertilization. Why not draw the line at ovulation? If we are going to grant fetuses and embryos legal status as human beings and mourn for them as though the were in fact human beings, then why not grant the same protection to the egg? The government should round up every ovulating woman not intending upon becoming
pregant and harvest her egg so that it might be fertilized and become a human being. And we can all put up millions of tiny white crossess for all the eggs that go unfertlized every day. In the meantime, we can continue to turn a blind eye to the ACTUAL children who are suffering in this country with inadequate health care, too little to eat, and too little love in their lives. After all, we're on the moral high road...
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