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Yup, still here....
Dec. 16th, 2003 12:41 pmSo, I read in my news-crawl today that the FDA is debating releasing emergency contraceptives for over-the-counter purchase, right alongside condoms. I have mixed feelings about this. This pill, Plan B is the name, is not an abortion drug, since if you're already pregnant it doesn't do anything. Basically, if you just had unprotected sex, you take this pill within three days and you're 80% less likely to wind up preggers from it. That's a good thing. I am way in favor of contraception, and anything that reduces both the number of abortions and the number of unwanted kids.
The problem I have, and that the FDA has, is that many American consumers are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. And the target market for emergency contraceptives are not necessarily in the top percentiles for logical thinking and planning, you know, given that they need emergency contraception. Either that, or they may just be naive and inexperienced. None of these factors seem to lend themselves to making readilly available high dosages of drugs that are regulated by prescription at much lower doses! If I need regular exams and a prescription for my little pink compacts of low-dose medicine, I think there's probably some sound reason for that. This feeling is borne out by some of the horror stories I've read in my women's health community about people who have gotten onto pills and had terrible side effects.
There are also a couple of other things to consider. Birth control pills are expensive. Even with an insurance copay (that many people don't get) my pills cost me 15 dollars a month, which is a lot for me, because I am poor. If a woman doesn't have sex that often, she might consider it a better value to take an emergency pill when she does have sex, rather than keep up her pills, also reducing the pain in the ass factor. I can get behind this idea, though I don't know how relevant it is since I have no idea what these new pills would cost. The problem I see, though, is that if women aren't using regular birth control, they won't get to the gyno as often, or at all, especially for younger women, and they could miss detecting problems that crop up.
So basically what I'm trying to say is... I don't know. I guess I don't have an opinion right now. And you read all that, trying to find it. Ha, fooled you!
The problem I have, and that the FDA has, is that many American consumers are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. And the target market for emergency contraceptives are not necessarily in the top percentiles for logical thinking and planning, you know, given that they need emergency contraception. Either that, or they may just be naive and inexperienced. None of these factors seem to lend themselves to making readilly available high dosages of drugs that are regulated by prescription at much lower doses! If I need regular exams and a prescription for my little pink compacts of low-dose medicine, I think there's probably some sound reason for that. This feeling is borne out by some of the horror stories I've read in my women's health community about people who have gotten onto pills and had terrible side effects.
There are also a couple of other things to consider. Birth control pills are expensive. Even with an insurance copay (that many people don't get) my pills cost me 15 dollars a month, which is a lot for me, because I am poor. If a woman doesn't have sex that often, she might consider it a better value to take an emergency pill when she does have sex, rather than keep up her pills, also reducing the pain in the ass factor. I can get behind this idea, though I don't know how relevant it is since I have no idea what these new pills would cost. The problem I see, though, is that if women aren't using regular birth control, they won't get to the gyno as often, or at all, especially for younger women, and they could miss detecting problems that crop up.
So basically what I'm trying to say is... I don't know. I guess I don't have an opinion right now. And you read all that, trying to find it. Ha, fooled you!
