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Five feminists committed a crime in broad daylight this afternoon before some 100 cheering accomplices at Rockefeller Plaza.

The offense? Giving a friend the emergency contraceptive known as the "morning-after pill," which is still only available by prescription.

Dr. Linda W. Prine was on hand at the New York rally to aid and abet. She wrote out prescriptions—with twelve refills—to anyone who asked, including this reporter.

The "MAP Conspiracy" pledge was delivered last week to FDA commissioner Mark McClellan, who had been due to grant or deny over-the-counter status to "Plan B," manufactured by Barr Laboratories, by February 20 but announced on Friday that he was delaying the decision for 90 days.

The pill, not to be confused with the home-abortion drug RU-486, is essentially a megadose of the same hormones contained in ordinary birth-control pills, but is much safer, with nausea as the only common side effect. It’s stocked on drugstore shelves in 38 countries, including Canada.

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Please don't quote me on the dose, it has been many years, I have no idea what oral contraceptives are available now or what adverse effects have been uncovered in the last 20 years.

[ 17 February 2004: Message edited by: this little girl ]

[ 17 February 2004: Message edited by: googlymoogly ]

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Birth control pills are by subscription - why shouldn't morning after pills either be by prescription or at least through emergency clinics?

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I don't think strong drugs like morning after pills should be sold over the counter. Women should have medical care when taking something so potent, just as women should have professional care when starting any drug-based contraception.

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I agree with this pretty strongly. I also think that the "home-remedy" morning after pill as described above is a bit sketchy. There are websites that'll tell you how many of your own brand of pills you should take to get the MAP effect (assuming you're a pill-taker, I guess), and it scares me to think that some women would just refer to such a site (or their friends etc.), take two or four or six of their regular bc pills and never see a doctor about it. It just seems pretty dangerous to self-medicate with artificial hormones.

I think the better solution, and more important objective for repro-rights activists is to have the morning after pill become a readily available and freely advocated medication, but keep it within the realm of the doctor's office. It should be prescribed without judgement, and all pharmacists should be required to fill the prescription without judgement.

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Originally posted by Lizard Breath:
I think the better solution, and more important objective for repro-rights activists is to have the morning after pill become a readily available and freely advocated medication, but keep it within the realm of the doctor's office.

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and kids in small towns just trust that their doctor or pharmacist won't tell their parents, right?

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They really are quite potent drugs.

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Originally posted by terra1st:
and kids in small towns just trust that their doctor or pharmacist won't tell their parents, right?

you've got to be kidding me.

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You trust the cashier at the drug store where someone might buy it over the counter more than a pharmacist or doctor to not breach confidentiality?

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If you have time to go to the drug store and buy the pills, you'd think there would be time to go to a drop-in clinic and get them there

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[ 17 February 2004: Message edited by: windymustang ]

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Originally posted by windymustang:
[QB]
It's often the poorer people who require these servicesQB]

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Originally posted by Anchoress:
Is that because the poorer a person is the more likely she is to mess up her birth control? Have unprotected sex? Treat a potential pregnancy as unwanted?

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and kids in small towns just trust that their doctor or pharmacist won't tell their parents, right?

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Just about every doctor I knew in general practice would not tell the parents if they prescribed the pill to a teenager and some of them took a lot of flak when they were caught.

Pharmacy is of course a different matter. I'm thinking of the episode on the 70s Show where Donna goes on the pill.

A friend of mine had a potent reproductive misadventure in Jamaica so he phoned a doctor to get a prescription for Ovral and was told that they are available over the counter in Jamaica.