In the past few years there have been many cases of pharmacists
refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, or
“the morning-after pill,” due to their personal, moral
or religious beliefs.
This has sparked a national debate concerning reproductive
rights, with some states passing legislation that protects a
pharmacist’s “right to choose,” while others make
it illegal for them to refuse access to the medication.
But laws that protect a pharmacists’ right to choose usurp
the rights of women to choose. In most states, women have to get a
prescription from a physician to acquire the pill. This can
potentially be very difficult when the morning-after pill needs to
be taken within 72 hours of intercourse.
This becomes especially difficult for women in rural areas, with
sometimes little or no access to transportation and where there may
not be another pharmacy nearby.
Many of these laws would become moot if emergency contraception
became an over-the-counter drug, as opposed to requiring a
prescription from a physician.
With about half the pregnancies in the United States unintended
and more than half of these ending in abortion, the morning-after
pill could quite possibly reduce the number of abortions.
And because the effectiveness of the morning-after pill is
time-dependent, making the pill over-the-counter makes sense. It
would make it easier for women to acquire the medication during the
first 72 hours after intercourse, when it is most effective
(it’s proven to prevent 89 percent of pregnancies ), as
opposed to having to make an appointment with a physician
first.
In 2003, there was an attempt to change Plan B, one brand of
emergency contraceptive, from a prescription only drug to an
over-the-counter drug. But the application was refused by the Food
and Drug Administration in 2004, against the recommendation of its
expert advisory panels.
Those in opposition argue that making emergency contraceptives
more accessible will only encourage sexual promiscuity and
irresponsibility. Many against the morning-after-pill also make the
claim that it is comparable to a medical abortion.
Others, notably physicians, feel that steroid hormones are too
unsafe to be available over-the-counter. They say that, because the
morning-after pill can sometimes change a woman’s menstrual
cycle, it should be administered only under the care of a
physician.
With respect to the first argument, everything from rock
“˜n’ roll to free condoms has been accused of promoting
sexual promiscuity. With or without these things, people are going
to continue to have sex, and research has shown that women and
teens provided in advance with emergency contraceptives are not
more likely to participate in unprotected sex.
At least now they have one more way to prevent unwanted
pregnancy.
And as to whether the morning-after pill is comparable to
abortion ““ it simply isn’t. An abortion, medical or
surgical, is performed after a woman has been fertilized and acts
to remove the fetus or fetal tissue from the womb.
Emergency contraception simply prevents a woman from becoming
fertilized, in much the same way as birth control pills. The only
difference is that the morning-after pill is taken after
intercourse, while birth control pills are taken daily.
And with respect to the last argument, the general medical
community is in favor of making the morning-after pill
over-the-counter, and there is plenty of evidence to show that it
is safe.
Luckily for golden staters, California has a law that allows
certain certified pharmacists, once they have gone through a
training session, to prescribe emergency contraception. This allows
women easier and faster access to the contraception, which will in
turn make it more effective.
And thankfully for the UCLA population, emergency contraceptives
are readily available from the Ashe Center. In the Women’s
Health Center, most clinicians offer students a second pack in case
of future need, and even offer it to students who are not presently
sexually active.
According to the Ashe Center student survey, about 50 percent of
undergraduates are sexually active, so this is a valuable resource
in case something goes wrong ““ and things do go wrong.
Condoms do break, intoxicated sex can lead to forgetfulness or
mistakes, and there are forms of medication that make birth control
pills less effective. Condoms can even fall off during sex. One
girl told me a story of drunken sex ending with a condom slipping
out of her vagina one day later.
In other words, there are a lot of valid reasons why you might
be in need of emergency contraception. And you never know when it
will happen. The last thing you’ll want to deal with is a
pharmacist refusing to provide it due to their religious or moral
beliefs.
Exercise your right to choose, and choose to e-mail Lara at
lloewenstein@media.ucla.edu.