OTC MAP is Back

January 20, 2005

Volume 7 / Number 3

Dear Colleague:

Greed-driven manufacturers of the morning-after pill (MAP) are hoping that the FDA will soon approve this abortifacient drug for over-the-counter sale.  Eight months ago the FDA rightly rejected this very bad idea.  Nothing has changed since then.  Call 888-463-6332 to urge them to do so again.

Steven W. Mosher

President

OTC MAP is Back

Despite deciding against non-prescription sales of the morning-after pill (MAP) just last May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could decide as early as today to effectively reverse that decision.  Taken within 72 hours after intercourse, MAP prevents pregnancy-or so its advocates say.  The American MAP’s manufacturer has even proposed a novel, never-before-approved method for regulating the drug’s sale in order to get it into the hands of as many women and girls as possible while satisfying the FDA’s safety concerns.  The campaign to expand MAP’s availability, both in the United States and around the world, rests on two lies: That MAP is safe for women and girls, and that MAP only prevents pregnancy rather than killing unborn children.

The second lie is the more blatant.  MAP is often called emergency contraception, and under that misleading name it has been introduced around the world with government and international funds that are not supposed to go for abortion.  Something called contraception should prevent conception from occurring–that’s what contraception means–but MAP doesn’t always do this.  Instead, it prevents the implantation of an already conceived child, killing an unborn baby in the early stages of life. 

The push for MAP (sold under the brand name Plan B in the United States) is so intense that pro-abortion experts have redefined pregnancy to begin at implantation, rather than conception, thus allowing them to claim that MAP has no abortifacient effect whatsoever.  This Orwellian tampering with language is intended to deceive the public-including anti-abortion women who are willing to use contraceptives but not abortifacients-and is almost as disturbing as MAP itself.

If MAP kills unborn children, is it nonetheless safe for mothers, particularly the teenagers who will get their hands on MAP without medical supervision if it is sold over the counter?  Plan B’s manufacturer, Barr Laboratories, and leading American feminist organizations say yes.  But as we noted in a 2004 report, Under the Table: Why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Should Not Approve the Over-the-Counter Distribution of Morning-After Pills, Berlin-based Schering, manufacturer of two MAP products primarily used in Western Europe. . .has refused to sell MAP in countries where it is available without a prescription.

As for Plan B itself, a December 2003 FDA advisory committee meeting revealed that certain MAP research issues were not resolved, said the report.  These include evidence on long-term safety, especially as to ectopic pregnancy; safety in [already] pregnant women and MAP-exposed fetuses; use as primary form of contraception. . .and interactions with other drugs.  Perhaps the greatest concern is that if MAP is available over the counter, women and girls will use it repeatedly rather than take care to use contraception or abstain.  This could lead to unknown consequences.

Plan B contains levonorgestrel, the same active ingredient in the contraceptive Norplant.  Norplant has been yanked from the American market because it’s so dangerous.

Barr says it wants pharmacies to keep MAP behind the counter and sell it only to those 16 years old and older.  This is a dubious stratagem at best, one never before approved by the FDA.  Does anyone doubt that minors will easily be able to get their hands on it without their parents’ knowledge?  Younger girls will get older friends to buy the drug for them-or their boyfriends will, since so many studies show that many boys and men having relations with 13-, 14-, and 15-year-old girls are several years (or more) older than their girlfriends.

Even though there is little data on how MAP affects younger teenagers, feminists want 13-year-olds to get MAP.  Referring to Barr’s 16-year-old minimum, the National Organization for Women (NOW) said January 18, The National Organization for Women opposes that restriction.

Over-the-counter sales of MAP will likely greatly increase its use, judging from other countries’ experience.  Sales of the morning-after pill have soared 60% in the 12 months since the emergency contraceptive became available over the counter in pharmacies, reported the Australian on January 13.  The rise in sales sparked a warning from Australian Medical Association president Bill Glasson that Postinor-2 should not be used as a drug of convenience.  Health Minister Tony Abbott [who is pro-life] last year expressed concern about reports girls as young as 13 had requested the emergency contraceptive.  (Yes, there is the phrase emergency contraceptive.

If you oppose over-the-counter availability of MAP, please express your opinion politely but firmly to the FDA.  Or call the comment line, 888-463-6332.

Do it now.

Joseph A. D’Agostino is Vice President for Communications at the Population Research Institute.

Never miss an update!

Get our Weekly Briefing! We send out a well-researched, in-depth article on a variety of topics once a week, to large and growing English-speaking and Spanish-speaking audiences.

Subscribe to our Weekly Briefing!

Receive expert analysis every Tuesday morning.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.