The Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether the emergency contraceptive Plan B, also called the morning after pill, should be available without a prescription, hassled state legislatures to monitor the availability of the drug, according to The Washington Post.
Unlike the FDA, Canada and Europe have already approved distribution of Plan B over the counter, according to the Daily Cardinal-online edition.
Dan Bruey, the director of AU's student health center, said that the health center provides Plan B for $20. Also, in addition to the health center and Planned Parenthood, Bruey said that the drug is available from public health centers, private physicians and hospital emergency rooms.
According to a representative at the D.C. Planned Parenthood, women can get Plan B from their clinic for $34 after signing paperwork, talking to a medical assistant and acknowledging she understands the drug's side effects.
Lucinda Peach, former director of the Women's and Gender Studies department and an associate professor in the philosophy and religion department, said Plan B should be available without prescription to women, unless there are serious health risks involved with the drug.
"It's important for women's reproductive rights to be able to control their own pregnancy." Peach said. "I believe that restrictions should be based on health risks, not legislation or a paternalistic point of view of whether it should be available."
Laurie Tucker, a professor who focus on issues in women's health in the department of health and fitness, said, "This inability on the part of the FDA has forced legislators into a role that should be reserved for people with a medical background...The good part is that some states are attempting to give greater access to women. And, ironically, the debate over Plan B has actually raised awareness, causing a spike in sales."
Since 2005, over 60 bills have been proposed by state legislatures to either expand or restrict the availability of Plan B to women. The state availability map for this drug is beginning to resemble a red and blue state division, with increased accessibility in democratic states and limited accessibility in republican states, according to The Post.
Passing legislation state by state "would promote a diversity of standards across the country because it's likely that different state legislatures will have different regulations," Peach said. "However, it might be preferable to one restrictive federal standard."
Proposed state legislation bills in Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois' intend to expand the right to distribute emergency contraception without a prescription over the counter, according to The Post.
In over 20 other states, legislation would give pharmacies the right not to stock the drug and pharmacists the right not to dispense it, even to women with prescriptions. In New Hampshire for example, the intended legislatiom would require parental consent before the drug is distributed, says The Post.
"It's also interesting to note that it is Women's History month," Tucker said. "It never ceases to amaze me how much we continue to have to struggle to have control over our own bodies and medical decisions"
