Editorials Commend FDA Decision To Expand Access To Plan B Emergency Contraception

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
Article Date: 28 Apr 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Two newspapers recently published editorials responding to the FDA's decision to lower the age limit for nonprescription sale of the emergency contraceptive Plan B from age 18 to age 17. Summaries appear below.

~ Baltimore Sun: FDA's decision to expand nonprescription sales of Plan B to women 17 or older "was a long-overdue triumph of science over politics," a Sun editorial states. According to the editorial, the Bush administration resisted FDA approval of over-the-counter sale of the drug for years and then approved nonprescription sales in 2006 for women 18 and older. "The debate over Plan B was never about whether the drug was effective or safe," the editorial says, noting that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Adolescent Medicine since 2004 have "urged the FDA to make Plan B available to all women and sexually active adolescents, including girls as young as 14." However, "religious conservatives and antiabortion groups argued the pill would encourage teens to engage in more unprotected sex and lead to an increase in the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions," according to the editorial. It says that despite a "small recent uptick in teen pregnancies in Maryland and nationally, ... there's no evidence linking the increase to the availability." The editorial says that although "there is no magic pill, Plan B or otherwise, that will make teen pregnancy disappear," it is encouraging that "officials can start looking again to science for answers, not politics" (Baltimore Sun, 4/24).

~ San Jose Mercury News: FDA's decision "is not only good science but also smart policy," albeit one that "took 10 long years," a Mercury News editorial says. "Bush officials had many reasons for barring girls under age 18 from using Plan B -- none of them valid," according to the editorial. It notes that, like other contraceptives, Plan B works by preventing pregnancy and does not end a pregnancy. The availability of the drug has not led to "promiscuity among women" or an increase in sexually transmitted infections, as opponents argued it would, the editorial says. "The fact is they just didn't like the idea of Plan B," the editorial continues. It concludes that avoiding unintended pregnancies "is a desirable social goal, but the FDA has acted because Plan B is safe and effective, not because of ideology. It's a relief to see that standard return" (San Jose Mercury News, 4/23).

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