Plan B doesn't solve problem

By: Emily Toohill

Posted: 9/7/05

With so many people dependent on quick fixes for acid reflux disease, obesity, depression, social anxiety disorder and a number of other illnesses, pharmaceutical companies thrive from marketing loads of pills at high prices.

People who desire to live without them and realize that there are better ways to treat their health problems frequently scrutinize the pills, the prices and the manufacturers. However, when it comes to oral contraceptives, these people tend to switch sides.

According to the Aug. 29 "USA Today," the Food and Drug Administration has delayed its decision as to whether or not the Plan B contraceptive or "morning-after pill" should be sold over the counter. This is not the first time Barr Pharmaceuticals, the pill's manufacturer, has tried to get FDA approval to sell the drug.

FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford and Drug Evaluation and Research Director Steven Galson said the delay was due to lack of research on how the pill affects girls under age 16. Senator Edward Kennedy, (D-Mass.), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other organizations that endorse marketing Plan B without a prescription claim that the FDA's delay is due to political influences and that the drug is perfectly safe.

So why the big deal over a pill?

No other oral contraceptive is available over the counter. Plan B contains the same hormones found in other birth control pills, but in higher doses. The pill prevents two things: ovulation and fertilization.

Most women cope with ovulation and accept it as part of life. Ovulation is not an abnormality to be feared; it is a natural cycle that ensures a woman's body is healthy and functioning properly. Women would be better off if their cycles were not interrupted and their bodies were allowed to do their thing.

Women who use birth control primarily do so to prevent fertilization. Rather than using the free and completely effective method of refraining from sexual intercourse, it seems that an increasing number of Americans would rather rely on pills or other contraceptive devices to keep sperm away from eggs.

When did fertilization become the worst thing in the world? If one considers that women have been giving birth to and rearing offspring for the past 1.8 million years and that the birth process is safer than ever, then there is no reason why women who are sexually active should avoid pregnancy as if it were the plague. There are numerous organizations dedicated to aiding women during and after pregnancy. No woman should have to feel incapable of either raising her child or allowing another family to raise it because of her age, marital status or financial situation.

The real dangers of unprotected sex are sexually transmitted diseases. Oral contraceptives do nothing to either treat or protect against STDs. If the morning-after pill is the only treatment a woman receives after unprotected sex, she is overlooking potential hazards that require a physician's expertise.

Perhaps those who oppose easier access to the morning-after pill are actually trying to discourage young Americans from unhealthy sexual behavior. Other medical groups say that a more accessible emergency contraceptive would decrease "about 3 million unintended pregnancies and 1.3 million abortions each year." However, these groups failed to say whether or not the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions had decreased in the seven states and 34 countries that already allow the pill to be sold without a prescription.

Because fertilization does not seem to be the real problem in the battle between the FDA and Barr Pharmaceuticals, a pill that prevents fertilization does not seem like a real solution.