FDA OKs non-prescription 'morning-after' pill
Decision allows over-the-counter sale of Plan B for those 18 or older
BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press

Updated: 8:17 a.m. CT Aug 24, 2006
WASHINGTON - Women may buy the morning-after pill without a prescription -
but only with proof they're 18 or older, federal health officials ruled
Thursday, capping a contentious 3-year effort to ease access to the
emergency contraceptive.

Girls 17 and younger still will need a doctor's note to buy the pills,
called Plan B, the Food and Drug Administration told manufacturer Barr
Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The compromise decision is a partial victory for women's advocacy and
medical groups that say eliminating sales restrictions could cut in half the
nation's 3 million annual unplanned pregnancies.

The pills are a concentrated dose of the same drug found in many regular
birth-control pills. When a woman takes the pills within 72 hours of
unprotected sex, they can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent.
If she already is pregnant, the pills have no effect.

Barr has said it hopes to begin nonprescription sales of Plan B by the end
of the year. The pills will be sold only from behind the counter at
pharmacies - so the pharmacist can check photo identification - but not at
convenience stores or gas stations.

There isn't enough scientific evidence that young teens can safely use Plan
B without a doctor's supervision, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA's
acting commissioner, said in a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

But Barr did prove that over-the-counter use is safe for older teens and
adults - and licensed pharmacies are used to checking for proof of age 18
before selling tobacco and certain other products, von Eschenbach wrote in
explaining the agency's age cutoff.

"This approach should help ensure safe and effective use of the product," he
concluded.