planb082506

On the homepage

Local

Tax evader seeks house arrest, not prison

Out There

Business

Mall, teen store sales decline

Vita.mn

Farm school: Local organic farming

Home | Lifestyle | Health + Wellness

It'll take time for Plan B to hit shelves

Customers younger than 18 will still need prescriptions for the so-called morning-after pill.

By Maura Lerner, Star Tribune

Last update: August 24, 2006 - 11:14 PM

Print this story

'PLAN B' IN MINNESOTA

Even before Thursday's decision to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B, demand for the so-called morning-after pill had been growing in Minnesota, according to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Here are the number of prescriptions tracked by Planned Parenthood in those states:

2001 8,285

2002 7,583

2003 8,821

2004 12,813

2005 19,764

2006 9,893

(as of June 30)

(Numbers since 2005 reflect better data collection methods.)

WHO USES PLAN B?

Women in their 20s use Plan B more than any other age group.

17 or younger 3.9%

18-21 38%.

21-25 34.7%

26-30 14.8%

31-40 7.4%

41 and older 1.3%

Source: Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

More from Health + Wellness

It may be several months before consumers will be able to buy the so-called morning-after pill, known as Plan B, without a prescription, even though the government gave its blessing for such sales Thursday.

The drug's manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals, said it expects to have the new packaging ready by the end of the year to begin over-the-counter sales of the pills, which reduce the risk of pregnancy after unprotected sex.

After years of delays and infighting, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it will allow the drug to be sold without a prescription to women 18 and older; anyone younger will still need a prescription.

The University of Minnesota's Boynton Health Service will start carrying the over-the-counter version "as soon as it's available," said spokesman Dave Golden.

He predicted that the FDA decision would improve access, even though the university has made it easy for students to call in for prescriptions after-hours.

"I know that roughly 9 to 10 percent of the women on campus have used emergency contraception in the last year," he said.

Planned Parenthood said it would celebrate Thursday's long-awaited decision with a "free emergency contraception day" on Sept. 6 at all of its 23 Minnesota clinics.

"My hope is that women will be able to walk in and simply ask for it at the counter," said Sarah Stoesz, president of the Planned Parenthood for Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Stoesz called Thursday's announcement "a great advance" on one hand, but she said it left too many roadblocks in place for many women. Under the FDA rules, the drug must be kept behind the counter and requested in person. Customers must show that they are 18 or older to buy the drug, much as they would for cigarettes.

In practice, she said, "I don't know that it will change that much at Planned Parenthood," where nurse practitioners are authorized to routinely dispense the pills to anyone who requests them.

But she predicts that more women will seek out the pills now. At a conference call Thursday, Planned Parenthood officials were told that the nonprescription version would not be available until November or December.

Only the packaging is changing as a result of Thursday's decision. A spokeswoman for Barr Pharmaceuticals said the medication is the same, but the labels will be revised so that it can be sold either with or without a prescription.

Decision resolves other issue

The FDA decision ended a contentious three-year battle over access to Plan B. The Bush administration had resisted efforts to lift the prescription requirement, saying that might encourage promiscuity. But women's advocacy and medical groups argued that over-the-counter use could cut in half the nation's 3 million annual unplanned pregnancies.

As of June, the company said it had sold 1.5 million doses of the pill in the previous 12 months.

In explaining the decision, the FDA's acting commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, said that Barr has proven that over-the-counter use is safe for older teens and adults. But he said teens 17 and younger should still need a doctor's prescription, because there isn't enough scientific evidence that they can use Plan B safely.

"This approach should help ensure safe and effective use of the product," he wrote.

The pills are a concentrated dose of the same drug found in many birth-control pills. When taken within 72 hours of sex, they can lower the risk of pregnancy by about 90 percent. The pills have no effect if the woman is already pregnant.

The decision was seen as a compromise that could end a political battle over Von Eschenbach's appointment as FDA commissioner.

Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington said that they will no longer block his confirmation.

"We are very pleased about this decision," Clinton said. "It is an important step forward, and it is about something more than just Plan B."

President Bush "agrees that minors should have a prescription," spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday. The president said the decision "recognized the critical distinction between minors and adults, and the risks this drug can impose."

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report. Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384 • mlerner@startribune.com