Post by PapaEZRA on Feb 28, 2006 6:30:12 GMT -5
By Marc Kaufman
The Washington Post
Published February 27, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Filling a void left by the Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether to make the "morning-after" pill available without a prescription, virtually every state is wrestling with legislation that would either expand or restrict access.
More than 60 bills have been filed in state legislatures already this year.
The resulting tug-of-war is creating a morning-afterpill availability map that looks increasingly similar to the Blue State/Red State map of the past two presidential elections--with increased access in Democratic-leaning states and greater restrictions where Republicans dominate.
Many of the state bills intended to expand access would give specially trained pharmacists in states including Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois the right to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription.
A rule imposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich requires Illinois pharmacies that sell contraceptives approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fill prescriptions for emergency birth control. Pharmacies that don't fill prescriptions for any type of contraception are not required to follow the rule.
But proposed laws in some states would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed. More than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right to not stock the drug, and pharmacists the right to not dispense it, even to women with prescriptions.
"The FDA made this a major issue for state legislatures," said Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute, a women's health research organization.
"Basically, every state now has an effort going to either make Plan B more easily available or to slow it down . . . .," said Edward Martin, a lawyer and lobbyist with Americans United for Life, who has helped with some proposed "conscience" clauses.
The makers of the morning-after pill, known commercially as Plan B, asked the FDA for the right to sell the drug over the counter in April 2003, four years after it was approved for use.
The FDA leadership first rejected and then deferred decision on the proposal. Plan B is listed as a contraceptive, but many in the right-to-life movement say it amounts to an early abortion.
The Washington Post
Published February 27, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Filling a void left by the Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether to make the "morning-after" pill available without a prescription, virtually every state is wrestling with legislation that would either expand or restrict access.
More than 60 bills have been filed in state legislatures already this year.
The resulting tug-of-war is creating a morning-afterpill availability map that looks increasingly similar to the Blue State/Red State map of the past two presidential elections--with increased access in Democratic-leaning states and greater restrictions where Republicans dominate.
Many of the state bills intended to expand access would give specially trained pharmacists in states including Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois the right to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription.
A rule imposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich requires Illinois pharmacies that sell contraceptives approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fill prescriptions for emergency birth control. Pharmacies that don't fill prescriptions for any type of contraception are not required to follow the rule.
But proposed laws in some states would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed. More than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right to not stock the drug, and pharmacists the right to not dispense it, even to women with prescriptions.
"The FDA made this a major issue for state legislatures," said Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute, a women's health research organization.
"Basically, every state now has an effort going to either make Plan B more easily available or to slow it down . . . .," said Edward Martin, a lawyer and lobbyist with Americans United for Life, who has helped with some proposed "conscience" clauses.
The makers of the morning-after pill, known commercially as Plan B, asked the FDA for the right to sell the drug over the counter in April 2003, four years after it was approved for use.
The FDA leadership first rejected and then deferred decision on the proposal. Plan B is listed as a contraceptive, but many in the right-to-life movement say it amounts to an early abortion.