"Morning After" Contraceptive May Go OTC (from ATSNN)

I just can't believe how many people are willing to accept this drug as safe due to their strong pro-abortion feelings. How many other unsafe drugs, foods and other products have the corporations put out there for us to use. Breast implants, naproxyn, lead paint, etc. I would be cautious too, for health's sake. I have two daughters, only 8 right now, but this is something I have to think about in the future. Good news is, their parents are very involved in their lives and may help lead them to make the right decisions.

Originally posted by lmgnyc
Can't we all agree that preventing abortions and unwanted pregnancy is a good thing?

Absolutely. I'm right there with ya'. I'm just concerned that the 'cure'
is worse than the 'disease'. I don't understand why this can't be under
a doctor's supervision. If it is only taken once or twice in a life time,
then what's the big deal about calling the doctor in the morning and
having him phone it in to the local pharmacy? That way he can keep
an eye on the patients health - both physical and mental. If some-one
develops a patern of 'emergency contraception' being needed, then
there are other problems with their life and they need help in other
areas (sorry, I was a psychology major ... I look at things from a
different angle).

Example (okay... for the guys out there ... scroll past this if you get
squirmy with 'girl things') ... Diflucan 150MG is a one dose tablet.
It isn't available OTC, it is something that the doctor has to prescribe.
This is for something as common as a yeast infection and this pill
would definately be used much more than the MAP (hopefully!).
What the people who want MAP going OTC are saying is that the MAP
is less powerful than the Diflucan 150MG - I don't buy that for a minute.

Honestly, I am just looking at the long term physical and mental health
effects of having this MAP go OTC. I can only see the benefits from it
being under a doctor's care. I don't understand the push to make it
OTC.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Absolutely. I'm right there with ya'. I'm just concerned that the 'cure'
is worse than the 'disease'. I don't understand why this can't be under
a doctor's supervision. If it is only taken once or twice in a life time,
then what's the big deal about calling the doctor in the morning and
having him phone it in to the local pharmacy?

Because doctors aren't always available in an emergency--my primary care doctor is unavailable from 4 pm on Friday until 9 am on Monday. Typically, when you call out of hours, a doctor's service will instruct you to go to the emergency room. To get a prescription, who knows how long it will be until you get a callback, especially if the doctor is traveling or just unavailable. Being that the chance of pregnancy increases significantly with each passing hour (the risk is 50% greater if taken more than 12 hours after sex), having to wait to find a doctor could result in MAP not working at all.

In some cases, having to consult with a doctor may be a deterrent. Teens may not know who to call, and they may be afraid that their parents will be contacted. Also, although it is medically unnecessary, teens that choose to go to clinic will have to go in for a visit, and some doctors will insist on seeing the patient to milk them for fees, which adds cost.

In a perfect world, everyone would have a doctor that they could call who is understanding enough to issue an emergency prescription in time of need. This is not the case, especially in a world of crappy HMOs.

Example (okay... for the guys out there ... scroll past this if you get
squirmy with 'girl things') ... Diflucan 150MG is a one dose tablet.
It isn't available OTC, it is something that the doctor has to prescribe.
This is for something as common as a yeast infection and this pill
would definately be used much more than the MAP (hopefully!).
What the people who want MAP going OTC are saying is that the MAP
is less powerful than the Diflucan 150MG - I don't buy that for a minute.

This is absolutely true. One dose of Diflucan can cause liver failure and it has interactions with a whole host of drugs. My gynecologist doesn't even want to prescribe it. MAP doesn't even compare with the side-effects profile of Diflucan.

my.webmd.com...

Honestly, I am just looking at the long term physical and mental healtheffects of having this MAP go OTC. I can only see the benefits from it
being under a doctor's care. I don't understand the push to make it
OTC.

There are some concerns with MAP, but I think that unwanted pregnancy and abortion have a greater impact on a woman's long term mental and physical health.

The only time that serious side effects will be caused from MAP is when it is misused--even the FDA would agree with that statement, and cost is a serious barrier to overuse (the $14 I quoted earlier is probably low--it might even be as high as $25 a dose when it is available OTC.) Considering that women that will overuse MAP would probably be the same women that would also have multiple abortions, I think that the benefits of MAP will outweigh the potential risks of misuse.