Women at Syracuse University may soon be able to get emergency contraception, or Plan B, without a prescription, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA announced its plans to make the drug over-the-counter last week.

The FDA is working with Duramed, a pharmaceutical company, to make the drug available without prescription to women ages 18 and older. The process may be completed in a matter of weeks, according to an FDA press release.

‘To reduce unwanted pregnancy is a great thing; (unwanted pregnancy) creates havoc in people’s lives,’ said Linda Alcoff, director of the women’s studies program at SU. ‘Nobody should be forced into parenthood. It’s not good for the kids.’

The product, also known as the ‘morning after pill,’ will likely not be available on drugstore shelves until January because the drug company has to change the packaging for over-the-counter sales, said Dr. James Jacobs, director of SU Health Services.

Plan B is currently available with a prescription at SU Health Services and will be provided over-the-counter when the change is effective.

‘New York State can set laws that are more conservative than the FDA,’ Jacobs said.

The Ohio legislature already stated it would not allow Plan B to be sold over-the-counter, and several states on the west coast require a prescription for drugs containing Sudafed.

If the federal sanction is accepted, emergency contraception could be available at any drugstore, according to Jacobs.

‘Given the political context, some drug stores may handle it differently,’ he said.

Some drug stores in Syracuse refuse to carry the product, even at its prescription status, Jacobs said.

Plan B contains an ingredient used in prescription birth control pills, but has a higher dose and a different dosing schedule. It reduces the likelihood of pregnancy before fertilization.

‘What’s behind a lot of the reproductive rights rhetoric in the public domain is conservatives don’t think women can make moral choices,’ Alcoff said. ‘Women think about what they can offer as a parent before they make a decision.’

Alcoff had to travel from Florida to New York to have an abortion at age 16. Both of her two sons came from unexpected pregnancies as well.

‘Everybody who is pro-choice would like to reduce the number of abortions,’ Alcoff said. ‘At the best situation, they’re a sad necessity.’

It’s good to know that it may be easier to get Plan B if needed, said Jessica Anderson, a junior advertising and economics major.

‘I definitely don’t like the idea of abortion, but I am pro-choice,’ she said.

Governments are hypocritical when they acknowledge a problem in high birth rates – especially among the poor – yet are against both over-the-counter Plan B and abortion, said Julianna Tobak, a junior women’s studies and anthropology major.

‘A guy has the ability to go to CVS and pick up a pack of condoms for $5.99, but women need to be covered by health insurance,’ Tobak said. ‘It’s a way for us to take control of our bodies. If a guy doesn’t use a condom, then you’ve got to cross your fingers.’

The difference between over-the-counter and prescription is that 40 million people in the U.S. have no healthcare, Alcoff said.

‘These people don’t have access to a doctor, and it may be more difficult for them to support a child,’ Alcoff said. ‘If everybody had a doctor, then it wouldn’t make a difference.’

The subject has been hotly contested in the New York State Assembly in the past year. In August 2005, Republican Gov. George Pataki vetoed a bill that would make the drug available without prescription to women and girls. Pataki wanted Plan B to come with information about sexually transmitted diseases, limit the dispersion to one dose at a time and set a minimum age to receive the drug.

A revised bill, which answered all of Pataki’s requests – except setting a minimum age – stalled in March 2006 after it was supported by the Assembly, Jacobs said. This is most likely because the state government knew action was being taken at the

Published on August 29, 2006 at 12:00 pm