Emergency contraception -- the infamous morning-after pill -- isa very different beast than aspirin. They shouldn't be side-by-sideon store shelves.
The Food and Drug Administration is debating whether it shouldallow emergency contraception to be sold over-the-counter like painkillers and cough syrup.
In order to obtain regular birth control pills, women mustundergo an exam with a gynecologist and get a prescription. Themorning-after pill -- marketed as Plan B and Preven -- is basicallya high dose of the same hormones found in those regular pills. Itshouldn't be an exception; women shouldn't be able to avoid a visitto the doctor by choosing the morning-pill over conventionalcontraception.
The FDA says there is no evidence that women would sufferserious negative side-effects if they began to use emergencycontraception frequently. However, regular birth control isbasically the same thing, and it requires a doctor's approval forgood reason. Misuse can be dangerous.
Even if the women who use the morning-after pill don't sufferside-effects, society could.
Emergency contraception is only 75 percent effective -- a farlower level of success than that found with conventional birthcontrol. If more women make the morning-after pill their preferredform of contraception, there could actually be an increase inunwanted pregnancies.
Also, like regular birth control pills, emergency contraceptiondoes nothing to prevent the spread of STDs. Everytime the existenceof the morning-after pill persuades a couple to forgo a condom, itwill have the potential to worsen public health.
It's too soon to allow such broad access to medicine that mightbe dangerous to misuse -- especially medicine that almost begs forsuch misuse. The potential cost to women and to society isn't worththe convenience.
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