 Panel rejects proposal to make emergency contraception available over the counter By Angela R. Treadway The Layman Online Thursday, July 1, 2004
The FDA has announced that it has delayed its decision as to whether it will approve such contraception for OTC use because adequate data on unsupervised usage by young girls was not yet available. Emergency contraception, commonly known as "the morning after pill," is a high-dosage hormone pill that prevents ovulation or prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. The "emergency" requiring use of the pill could be any unprotected sex in which a pregnancy is not desired – in particular, instances of rape. Overture 04-66 was presented by Colleen Bowers, an elder and registered nurse from the Presbytery of Baltimore. She explained that "emergency" contraception is already available by prescription, but that since it must be used within 72 hours of unprotected sex to be effective and that such sex commonly occurs at times when the person's regular physician may not be available (such as weekends), it would greatly reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions if the drug were available over the counter without the need for a doctor's prescription. Bowers also emphasized that the pill does not cause abortion, and would have no effect on an embryo already implanted in the uterus. Patty June, a physician from Clint River Presbytery and one of the resource persons made available to the committee, cited medical evidence of potential harmful side effects to regular use of the drug, including moderate to severe bleeding problems, nausea, dizziness, headache, and depression. After considering the information from the resource personnel and testimony given during the Monday morning session, the commissioners disapproved the overture by a vote of 41-21-1. |
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