Have you heard the news? Plan B, the "morning-after pill," is now available without a prescription to women age 18 and older. It's big news, after a politically charged delay of more than two years at the FDA.
Though a review committee approved Plan B for nonprescription status in late 2003, the decision would sit in limbo until today because of political pressure from lobbyists who compared Plan B to an abortion.
Heavyweights like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Planned Parenthood and high-level government officials jumped into the sordid tale of Plan B, lobbying for a decision based on science, not politics. They countered that emergency contraception was not the same as an abortion. Plan B was designed to prevent pregnancy, and reduce the number of women who might seek abortion -- which seemed to be a sentiment both sides could agree on.
In fact, Plan B uses a high dose of progestin, the same ingredient that's active in the birth control pill, to prevent a sperm and egg from joining. In some cases, Plan B can prevent an already-fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
Now that Plan B has been made available, it's time for all of us to take a moment to appreciate the strides we've made in women's sexual health. Science finally won and it seems to be a trend lately. Plan B and the recently approved HPV vaccine allow women to make sexual choices they can feel good about -- and to have somewhere to turn when the unforeseen happens. Condoms break and women are coerced into unprotected sex by boyfriends and husbands alike. We shouldn't have to go to the extremes of rape and incest to demonstrate a woman's right to birth control, since unexpected hardship happens every day.
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