KOLD News 13 live, local and late breaking-Morning-After Pill Gets Its Day

Morning-After Pill Gets Its Day

By Bud Foster/Anchor Reporter bfoster@kold.com

After a contentious three year debate, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the sale of the morning-after pill without a prescription.

For the first time, the pill, also known as "Plan B, will be available over the counter to women 18 years of age or older.

However, girls 17 years of age and younger will still need a doctor's note in order to buy the Plan B pills.

The morning-after pill is made by Barr Pharmaceuticals.

Some women's advocacy groups and medical groups say with the approval, the number of unwanted pregnancies in the United States could be cut in half.

The pills are a concentrated dose of the same drug found in regular birth control pills. When a woman takes the Plan B pill within 72 hours after unprotected sex, it can reduce the chance of pregnancy by 89 percent.

Barr Pharmaceuticals says it hopes to be selling the pill over the counter by the end of the year. But it will be sold only from behind the counter so pharmacists can check identification.

The pill will not be sold at gas stations or convenience stores.

Nine states already allow women to buy the pill from certain registered pharmacists, but Arizona is not one of them.

There is a political overtone to Thursday's decision. Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach has been the acting director of the FDA and there were threats in the U.S. Senate to withhold his confirmation to head the agency. This decision removes the final roadblock to his confirmation.