On August 24, 2006 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a decision to allow sales of the Plan B morning-after pill without a prescription to women over 18 years old. This ruling is a serious threat to the health of women, especially teenagers.

Plan B has a significantly higher dosage of the active ingredients in regular contraceptives.    Those contraceptives still require a prescription.  Now women can obtain this higher dosage without any input from a physician about health history that may point to contra-indications against use of such a drug.   

How was such an inversion of prescription rules justified?  The theory is that Plan B is only needed for “one-time use” under “emergency” circumstances.    In the real world, this assumption has been proven unrealistic.  In European nations where morning-after pill sales without a prescription have been allowed, a dangerous percentage of women have chosen to use it as just another form of birth control.   They are putting themselves at risk for serious health consequences later in life from these high dosages of contraceptives that were already found to cause unacceptable health issues years ago.

Beyond these health time bombs, the morning-after pill does not achieve the results claimed by its supporters.   They claim unwanted pregnancies and abortions will be cut in half.  In Sweden, six years after morning-after pill sales without a prescription, the abortion rate for teenagers had increased by 31%.  In Britain, the government has declared an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases a few years after such sales began.  

Still worse, the regulations to prevent younger teenagers from obtaining Plan B without a prescription are not workable.  Older teens will be able to buy Plan B for younger teens.  Sexual predators will be able to buy Plan B for their young victims to cover their tracks.  

Plan B without a prescription is a prescription for a health care disaster.  Apparently, the FDA, Planned Parenthood, and other supporters of this irresponsible action are willing to sacrifice women’s health on the altar of political correctness and sexual license.