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  1. #1
    Yesdachi swallowed by Jaguar! Member yesdachi's Avatar
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    Default Plan “B” gets the green light

    Well folks the Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow women (18 yrs old) to buy the Morning After Pill over the counter without a prescription.

    What do you think? Worse thing since snakes offering apples to naked chicks or best thing for an overprotective mother to feed her promiscuous daughter for breakfast every morning?

    I say the more choices the better.

    The story…
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    FDA Eases Limits on Plan B Sales
    By ANDREW BRIDGES
    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 number of unplanned pregnancies. Opponents have argued that wider access could increase promiscuity.
    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.
    The earlier it's taken, the more effective Plan B is. But it can be hard to find a doctor to write a prescription in time, especially on weekends and holidays. Hence the push to allow nonprescription sales.
    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.
    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.
    Plan B's maker was disappointed that FDA imposed the age restriction and pledged to continue working the agency to try to eliminate it.
    "While we still feel that Plan B should be available to a broader age group without a prescription, we are pleased that the Agency has determined that Plan B is safe and effective for use by those 18 years of age and older as an over-the-counter product," said Bruce L. Downey, Barr's chairman.
    As a condition of approval, Barr agreed to track whether pharmacists are enforcing the age restriction, by, among other things, sending anonymous shoppers to buy Plan B. FDA said Barr is to conduct that formal tracking at least twice in the first year of sales and annually thereafter, and report stores that break the rules to their state pharmacy licensing boards.
    But Barr also will conduct a national education campaign to raise awareness of emergency contraception, among both women and health providers.
    Nine states _ Washington, California, New Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont _ already allow women of any age to buy Plan B without a doctor's prescription from certain pharmacies. Proponents of those pharmacy access programs believe that minors won't see any change in those states, because the pharmacist already technically writes a prescription.
    The FDA approved prescription-only sales of Plan B in 1999, and the quest to sell nationwide without a doctor's note began in 2003. That year, the agency's independent scientific advisers overwhelmingly backed nonprescription sales for all ages, and FDA's staff scientists agreed.
    But higher-ranking officials rejected that decision, citing concern about young teens' use of the pills without a doctor's oversight. Barr reapplied, asking that women 16 and older be allowed to buy Plan B without a prescription. Then, last August, the FDA postponed a final decision indefinitely, saying the agency needed to determine how to enforce those age restrictions.
    FDA's handling of Plan B sparked a firestorm: Critics charged that political ideology had trumped science; a reproductive-rights group sued to force FDA to settle the issue; and congressional auditors concluded the agency may have made decisions without reviewing all the evidence.
    Still, nationwide nonprescription sales were widely consider a doomed issue until last month, when the FDA reversed itself and said it would reconsider if Barr agreed to an age 18 restriction. That surprise announcement came on the eve of a Senate committee hearing on whether to confirm von Eschenbach as FDA's new head.
    Thursday's decision is expected to remove a Senate roadblock to his full confirmation.
    "While I am glad that the drumbeat for a return to a science-based FDA has had some positive impact, this decision still represents a compromise, one that could have the unintended consequence of hurting young women's health," said Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned as FDA's women's health chief to protest the agency's 2005 delay.
    But opponent Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said Plan B's wider availability could give women a false sense of security, since it isn't as effective as regular birth control. Wright also worries that adult men who have sex with minor girls could force the pills upon them.
    "Statutory rape is a very serious problem. This decision is going to allow statutory rapists to rely on this drug to cover up their abuse," Wright said.
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  2. #2
    Needs more flowers Moderator drone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Plan “B” gets the green light

    I'll say good, not great. I assume there are possible side-effects, and some women may react differently to the medication than others. I'm also sure there will be women who will take multiple pills, because they "reaaaaaaalllly don't want to get preggers". What effect will this have on their bodies?

    Of course, for all I know you can already buy these in clubs from the same guys who sell X, viagra, and rophynol.
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  3. #3
    zombologist Senior Member doc_bean's Avatar
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    Default Re: Plan “B” gets the green light

    Freedom prevails !

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  4. #4
    Enlightened Despot Member Vladimir's Avatar
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    Default Re: Plan “B” gets the green light

    Sure, why not? Less than a dozen people have died from it so why not? Of course if it was held to the standards of other drugs I'd never be on the market. This is the same pill (RU 486), correct?
    Last edited by Vladimir; 08-24-2006 at 16:40.


    Reinvent the British and you get a global finance center, edible food and better service. Reinvent the French and you may just get more Germans.
    Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars
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  5. #5
    Senior Member Senior Member Ser Clegane's Avatar
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    Default Re: Plan “B” gets the green light

    Quote Originally Posted by Vladimir
    This is the same pill (RU 486), correct?
    No - it is a very different product with a different (to my knowledge much "milder") active ingredient.

  6. #6
    Enlightened Despot Member Vladimir's Avatar
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    Default Re: Plan “B” gets the green light

    I hope that's true. This seems like al all-round good thing. It doesn't kill off fetuses (err, or feti? ) but mealy prevents fertilization.


    Reinvent the British and you get a global finance center, edible food and better service. Reinvent the French and you may just get more Germans.
    Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars
    How do you motivate your employees? Waterboarding, of course.
    Ik hou van ferme grieten en dikke pinten
    Down with dried flowers!
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  7. #7
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Great plan, but the minimum age requirement is set way too high. Fifteen or fourteen would be better.
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  8. #8
    Senior Member Senior Member Ser Clegane's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    In case anybody is interested in more information - here is Barr's product website on "Plan B"

    A good step in the right direction - certainly a better option than abortion.

  9. #9
    Member Member danfda's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
    Great plan, but the minimum age requirement is set way too high. Fifteen or fourteen would be better.
    Agreed. Sex happens before age 18, whether or not parents and congressmen want it to.
    "Its just like the story of the grasshopper and the octopus. All year long the grasshopper kept burying acorns for winter while the octopus mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV. Then the winter came, and the grasshopper died, and the octopus ate all his acorns and also he got a racecar. Is any of this getting through to you?"

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  10. #10
    Enlightened Despot Member Vladimir's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
    Great plan, but the minimum age requirement is set way too high. Fifteen or fourteen would be better.
    They also have sex (and get pregnant) at 12. Why not that?


    Reinvent the British and you get a global finance center, edible food and better service. Reinvent the French and you may just get more Germans.
    Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars
    How do you motivate your employees? Waterboarding, of course.
    Ik hou van ferme grieten en dikke pinten
    Down with dried flowers!
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



  11. #11
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Quote Originally Posted by Vladimir
    They also have sex (and get pregnant) at 12. Why not that?
    This Plan B should be available to 12 year olds, but not over the counter. At age twelve, I think parents should know about their children engaging in sexual activity (if not try to prevent it), if only to prevent abuse.

    I picked 14 or 15 as the age at which girls should be able to have sex without parental consent. I know I would've been horrified if I would've been forced to discuss my sexual experiments with my parents at that age.*


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    *note to self; improve lousy sentence construction, Louis: you did not have sexual experiments with your parents at that age.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    in fact, not at any age.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    besides, be a man and admit your horror only stemmed from the prospect of being forced to admit to a lack of sexual experiments at that age.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Quote Originally Posted by Don C.
    come on Louis... American students under the age of 18 can get expelled for bringing cough syrup or an aspirin to school (zero-tolerance) but you want to allow pre-teens to perform self-abortions over the counter?
    They're teens and they're not abortions.

    And do you realize how hot 15 year old cheerleaders look nowadays? It would be a crime against humanity to prevent these girls from sharing the carnal pleasures they've got to offer. And if they are allowed to have sex, they should be allowed prevention of undesired pregnancies too - without any parental interference.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
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    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
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  12. #12
    Enlightened Despot Member Vladimir's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
    And do you realize how hot 15 year old cheerleaders look nowadays? It would be a crime against humanity to prevent these girls from sharing the carnal pleasures they've got to offer. And if they are allowed to have sex, they should be allowed prevention of undesired pregnancies too - without any parental interference.
    Well I'm TRYING not to and you're NOT HELPING!!!

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Reinvent the British and you get a global finance center, edible food and better service. Reinvent the French and you may just get more Germans.
    Quote Originally Posted by Evil_Maniac From Mars
    How do you motivate your employees? Waterboarding, of course.
    Ik hou van ferme grieten en dikke pinten
    Down with dried flowers!
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



  13. #13
    probably bored Member BDC's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re : Plan “B” gets the green light

    Been like that a couple of years here. Society hasn't completely collapsed yet.

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