Victory for Plan B!

[simplebeauties.livejournal.com]

Plan B prevails! Today, after years of foot-dragging, the FDA put politics aside and granted over-the-counter status to emergency contraception for women 18 and older.

This victory is the result of years of pressure from the scientific and medical communities and pro-choice activists, including thousands of Planned Parenthood supporters like YOU. Thank you!

Please take a moment to thank Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA), for their indispensable leadership on this issue.

While emergency contraception is not yet available over-the-counter — you can always get emergency contraception at your local Planned Parenthood. Celebrate this momentous decision today by picking up a package of emergency contraception to back up your birth control!

This is a huge, long-awaited success — but there is still more work to be done. In its announcement, the FDA stated it will not approve over-the-counter sales of Plan B to women under 18. It continues to deny teens the benefits of greater access to emergency contraception.

Our country has a serious teen pregnancy problem. As we all know, anything that makes it harder for teens to prevent unintended pregnancy is bad medicine and bad policy.

What's more, this age restriction means pharmacies will likely keep this safe, effective backup method of birth control behind the counter, forcing all women to ask a pharmacist's permission to access it.

We will continue to work diligently to secure over-the-counter access of emergency contraception for ALL women of ALL ages — without them needing permission from a pharmacist.

Thank you for your help in getting us this far!

Comments

[twilight-echo.livejournal.com]

YAY!

[sabrarosa.livejournal.com]

w00t! About time!

[piink-flirt.livejournal.com]

yayyyy! & im glad I'm 18 in november.

[spokenonlyonce.livejournal.com]

YAY!! *proud to be one of Patty Murray's constituents*

[tirlasutaa.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad this finally occurred, but at the same time really disappointed that it wasn't a true victory in that it's not available otc for all females. This really isn't much of a win in my eyes.

[hardspacecore.livejournal.com]

Well, if anything females that aren't 18 could have someone who is purchase it for them. At least it would be more easily accessible. And I'm sure it would end up just like cigarettes at a lot of gas stations- they're supposed to ID for them, but they just don't *shrug*

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it's THAT bad of a thing that it's age restricted.

[wish-babe.livejournal.com]

I agree! I really think that the girls who are underaged and REALLY need it will be able to find someone to buy it for them or will be able to find a store that won't ID... I mean, they are SUPPOSED to ID for sudafed and I've never been ID-ed.

[roseyposey01.livejournal.com]

Yay! Younger teens should make friends with 18 year olds I guess...that's still kind of messed up, but at least they're starting to make steps in the right direction.

[my-heart-gone.livejournal.com]

When will the otc status of plan B become effective?

[sarahssoul.livejournal.com]

OTC implementation will likely take place after Barr Labs (the producer of Plan B) can re-package the pills. Their agreement with the FDA states that the under 18 and the over 18 pills have different packaging. To my knowledge, they have not announced how long they expect this to take.

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

Woo!

And hey, if I ever need it, my boy is 18 ... this weekend. Bwhaha.

[fightsactualfoo.livejournal.com]

Will they sell it to men?

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

I don't see why they wouldn't.

I mean, it's one thing to restrict access based on age, but I think there would be a lot of protest going on if it was restricted by /gender/.

[lookintomyeyes.livejournal.com]

This questin comes up because there is always fear that a man will force a woman to take the drug after (committing rape), thus ensuring she never gets pregnant, even if she might want to.

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

True. Honestly, I didn't think of that, although it would be another way of control for an abusive man.

I don't think, though, that it would be fair to restrict access based on gender.

[lookintomyeyes.livejournal.com]

No, i don't either, as often a women might be too stressed/afriad and her supportive bf might want to help out.

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Like, in my case, if I ever needed Plan B, my boyfriend would HAVE to get it for me, as I'm only 16.

[ennyleve.livejournal.com]

yes, i read an article that says they will.

[saucydiva.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! I had pretty much given up hope till 2008...

[justjess.livejournal.com]

I love your icon.
Like whoa.

[saucydiva.livejournal.com]

And I love yours

[soulsearcher139.livejournal.com]

so when does it become available? does anyone know?

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

1/1/07 i do believe.

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

""nything that makes it harder for teens to prevent unintended pregnancy is bad medicine and bad policy. ""

the BEST way to prevent unintended pregnancy is to PREVENT and ABSTAIN from sex - if minors were to abstain from sexual intercorse the "serious teen pregnancy problem" would all but be non-exsistant


i think this policy goes for adults as well

it cant be good for such a young woman to be pumping so many hormones into her DEVELOPING body - and what if the girl used this plan B every other day....? that possibility is not a good thing.

what if the girl is 12? 10? should a ten year old be able to buy over the counter Plan B? can a ten year old really understand what plan B is and what it can and may do to her body?

I mean no offense by this, but i find what you have to say a little disconcerting.

[poppleshatesyou.livejournal.com]

I think you are blowing these "what ifs" a little out of proportion.
But think about it this way, what if the girl is 12, would it be worse or more traumtic for her to have the kid/adopt it out/abort it? think about it. the morning after pill saves many people a lot of grief, and the majority of people don't use it as birth control. a pharmacist/doctor wouldn't let someone get plan B day after day, they would talk to them about using a form of birth control.

One more thing; yes, abstaining from sex is the best way to not get pregnant, and alot of teenagers (and adults) know that. but it doesn't stop them from having sex, or from making mistakes if they are using birth control. Having Plan-B over the counter is not only a big victory for women in general, it's a big victory for reproductive rights.

Re: I mean no offense by this, but i find what you have to say a little disconcerting.

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

"a pharmacist/doctor wouldn't let someone get plan B day after day, they would talk to them about using a form of birth control."

cant a woman go from drug store A on monday get a plan B - drug store b on tuesday and get another - how many drug stores are with in 15min of where you live?

in the OP (org. post) it is stated that *they* (who ever they are) are not happy with having to ask *permission* from a pharmacist to get Plan B - that they want it to be a general shelf product like asprin - as a lil girl i could go buy asprin without anyone "Talking" to me about it or how to prevent headaches. Nor having my parents (who are responsible for my wellbeing) even aware that i have bought such and such product.


you say "The majority of people dont use it as birth controle" but what about young minors that do/will? whats more is that many (not all) young girls are unable to understand the ramifacations of such a high dose of hormones and its affects on their bodies and there physical health - that is why it should not become an over the counter drug for THEM.

older women CAN understand all these possibilities and the affects of these drugs on thier bodies and so yeah over the counter works for them.

As for a a girl of 12 and it being better to take the Plan B rather than (MAYBE) being preg. and having to deal with the possibilites of all that - at least in the situation of pregnantcy they would have health care prof. to consult and inform her as to what such and such will do to her body and what her options are RATHER than going in to a drug store uninformed and taking plan B out of fear of POSSIBLE preg. possibly taking it wrong or taking to much or the potential out come of side effects and possible reproductive damange and physical damage it could cause - and can plan B be linked to any deaths?


and FYI for lowering STD's and abortions and unwanted preg.:::
"
Countries that make the morning-after pill easy to access show no drop in pregnancies or abortions, but they do experience skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
"
http://www.cnsnews.com/Nation/Archive/200607/NAT20060731d.html

i dont suport this avenue AT ALL - you say *right to reproductive right* i say making these meds over the counter for women of ALL ages just incresases the likely hood of some woman messing her life up with misuse of this product - and continuing unprotected sex (hello STDs).

(This will be my last comment to this post because i am not interested in a flame/political war that will do little to no good)

Re: I mean no offense by this, but i find what you have to say a little disconcerting.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

"The majority of people dont use it as birth controle" but what about young minors that do/will? whats more is that many (not all) young girls are unable to understand the ramifacations of such a high dose of hormones and its affects on their bodies and there physical health - that is why it should not become an over the counter drug for THEM."

With good, comprehensive sex education, even young girls could understand that EC shouldn't be used every day. They would also understand their options in terms of birth control, and ultimately, they would be better equipped to abstain from sex and understand what that means. It's true that we don't have good sex education everywhere, but I think educating should be our goal. That way, availability of birth control to people who *do* choose to have sex (whether or not anyone feels they should) would be an even more positive (and reliable) thing.

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/7466955.html <-- VP's EC FAQ, which (among lots of other things) has sources saying that EC in't harmful in the least, even to a developing body.

And while I agree that a girl taking plan B every other day wouldn't be good (it likely wouldn't work to prevent pregnancy, at the very least), what we need is comprehensive sex ed in all schools telling girls how to not get pregnant, how to have safer sex, and all sorts of other stuff. Abstaining is great, but it's not realistic and we need to move beyond that, y'know?

(frozen)

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

hormone induced lack of fertility is not the answer

sex is not the answer

self controle - now there is a safe answer.

a 13 year old girl is NOT missing out on life because she isnt having sex.

(frozen) Maintainer Note -- Safe Space Warning

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

Hi, dailybecoming. I'm writing on behalf of the VP Team to express concern that the attitude and/or wording above do not foster what we consider Safe Space in this community. Specifically, we are concerned that when you say, "hormone induced hormone induced lack of fertility is not the answer... sex is not the answer," it substitutes your judgment for others' life choices, which are sometimes to take HBC and/or to have sex. In addition, contrasting it with "self controle [sic] - now there is a safe answer" seems to imply that people who have sex lack self control, which is an unfair statement to make as it is by no means always true.

Please consider this a warning as well as a friendly reminder to take this opportunity to review VP's policies. You can find more information on Safe Space in our FAQ, as linked here:

http://www.vaginapagina.com/faq.php#WhatIsSafeSpace
http://www.vaginapagina.com/faq.php#What%20are%20the%20rules
http://www.vaginapagina.com/faq.php#Empowerment%20Model

You are more than welcome to make a post over in contact_vp or to contact us via email If you'd like to talk more about this matter or clarify any points; we only ask that you avoid commenting further here out of respect for the OP. Further replies to this thread will be frozen.

Thanks!
Tori
for the VP Team
contact_vp

[glamourinthin.livejournal.com]

I, for one, am very happy it's become available.
I think that if more people were educated about the benefits of birth control and emergency contraceptives the world would be a LOT better off.

& to the poster above.. you can "what if" something many times - fact of the matter is that teenagers WILL NOT be abstaining from sex no matter who tells them to. I'm sure something like Plan B would be a better solution to a problem than say having an abortion or going through an unwanted pregnancy/adoption.

Yay for planned parenthood!

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

teens USED to abstain.

it wasnt until condoms and birth controle abortion options and now Plan B that unplaned teen preg. rates shot through the roof.

so you can SAY that teens wont/cant abstain but there is historical proof that says otherwise.

[free-me07.livejournal.com]

According to the Guttmacher Institute (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/05/1/gr050107.html), teen pregnancy rates in the United States have declined significantly after reaching a high point in 1950. Do you have a source about the increase of teen pregnancy after the development of condoms and hormonal birth control?

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

nah prob not - not to say i couldnt find one - i just dont feel like looking for it.
but you could be right.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

It's also worth noting that while the United States has one of the higher teen pregnancy rates in the developed world (as per the Guttmacher Institute link that free_me07 posted), many countries in Europe... which have record low rates of teen pregnancy... are perhaps not coincidentally countries which have much easier access to affordable contraceptive options than in many parts of North America.

This article (http://www.webmd.com/content/article/21/1728_55272) from WebMD suggests that part of the reason for Europe's low teen pregnancy rates is the widespread availability of condoms and other contraceptive options; that article also references the dropping teen pregnancy rate since 1976 in America.

Furthermore, this article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4020025.stm) from the BBC (again, referencing that famous Guttmacher study) notes that about 25% of the drop in teen pregnancies in the United States can be attributed to sexual abstinence; the other 75% are attributed to sexually active teens having access to contraceptive options so as not to become pregnant.

It is also important, I think, to recognize that teens have been sexually active since, well... since a very, very long time.

While premarital sex has been a taboo act in many societies for many years, it's certainly always happened. In his landmark (though somewhat flawed) studies, Alfred Kinsey found that almost 70% (http://www.indiana.edu/~kinsey/resources/ak-data.html#premaritalcoitus) of males had had sex by age 18; and Kinsey's studies were conducted between 1947 and 1953.

While abstinence most definitely has a valuable place in the modern discussion about teen sexual choices, and is the right choice for many teens, it is also important to recognize that statistically, there is massive evidence to demonstrate that being able to access contraception and reproductive options has actually reduced the numbers of teen pregnancies, not increased them.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

There's historical proof? Really? Because everything I can find says the opposite is true:

http://www.siecus.org/pubs/fact/fact0010.html

http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/national.asp

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/14TeenPregnancy.cfm

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=38643

http://www.pregnancy-info.net/teen_pregnancy_statistics.html

And etc. Now, the U.S. teen pregnancy rates are still much higher than Europe and other countries where good sex education is standard and birth control is readily available to everyone, but I think that suggests that we need to be moving further in the direction of education and availability, not away from it.

[wish-babe.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but I'm just wondering why you think teens can't STILL abstain?
I was on birth control for my whole high school career and never once had sex... I think it's really a person to person thing and the EC is GOOD for girls who find themselves in a situation they can't control. I do definately agree that EC is a better solution than abortion or unwanted pregnancy... I think they should just inclulde PLAN B education in all the health classes starting in 4th grade when they talk to girls about their periods and then we just won't have a problem with people not knowing about it. So, I do definately agree with most of your post, but I didn't understand why you say that teens won't abstain? :)

[sarahssoul.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I am extremely excited about this. However, I am also very disappointed in the FDA. The FDA made the decision to only make EC otc without any medical basis. The FDA's job is to make decisions about the safety of medications based on medical data, not idologic 'principles.' It's truly unfortunate that they are choosing idology over the health and safety of our teen women.

[laughing-shadow.livejournal.com]

Yay for you all! I for one am thrilled to hear that women in the US will have more access to EC. From an Australian perspective I have been interested (or at least 'interested') in some of the above comments... EC is available OTC at pharmacies here, whether you're over 18 or not. I understand that taking it too many times can cause serious medical problems, but really, it's not an issue - I think pharmacists might be under some kind of obligation to let women know about side effects, so that they can make a more fully informed choice...

One question: how DO females who are under 18 get EC? Will their doctor prescribe it to them, or do they actually need parental consent or something of that order?

[wish-babe.livejournal.com]

I have a question for you... do you think that since EC is available to 'underaged' girls in Australia that more girls are having sex? Have you "seen" that? Do you know what I mean?

Females under 18 have to have a perscription from a doctor to get it, I believe. And I think it cost a good amount? I think they DO need parental consent, but I am not completely sure... I'm the wrong source for your questions, but those are just what I think it is. :)

[laughing-shadow.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your info re: under 18s getting EC!

I'll respond to your question, but with two caveats:

a) I've never lived anywhere but Australia, so I can't really compare; and
b) Obviously I haven't spent much time observing the sexual practices of the entire underage populaion of Australian females!

That aside, instinct tells me the answer is no, purely from personal experience with underage sexually active females. I've never heard anyone say/think anything like "oh, I don't have to worry about getting pregnant, I can just take EC the next day". It's more like, "oh, I don't have to worry about getting pregnant, I'll just use condoms/take the pill". Plus most girls are properly educated (I wasn't, conservative Christian schooling) about different types of BC, so they know how to get the Pill and they know about the potential side effects of EC.

[beutfulone.livejournal.com]

do you have the link to this article?

[simplebeauties.livejournal.com]

No.. I got it by e-mail.. Sorry.

[poppleshatesyou.livejournal.com]

I think this is it Emergency Contraception OTC (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/media/pressreleases/pr-060824-ec.xml)

I got this info via e-mail as well, but if you go to the "Media & Research" (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/media) section on the PPH site there is loads more info.