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Newfoundland Approves Over-the-Counter Access to Morning-After Pill

By Jenna Murphy

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, July 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After a three month waiting period, Plan B, the so-called morning after pill (MAP), used to prevent or to terminate pregnancies within 72 hours of having had sex, hit the shelves in Newfoundland's pharmacies last week.

In its May 2008 ruling, the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) gave Plan B (Levonorgestrel) full over-the-counter status. Though the decision was effective immediately in most provinces, Newfoundland was given three months to consider changing the drug's status from schedule III to schedule II, which eliminates the need for pharmacist consultation.

In announcing the change of status of the drug, NAPRA President Sandra Carey said that, despite the ability of consumers to purchase Plan B over-the-counter, "We believe that pharmacists will continue to play a significant role in patient safety by providing emergency contraception advice to help ensure the appropriate use of this product as well as other medications which are restricted to pharmacy only sale."

Some pharmacists in Newfoundland, however, disagree, and say they are disturbed by NAPRA's decision.

"I cannot believe government would go ahead and make these kinds of changes which allow women of all ages to purchase Plan B, without consulting with the people who know the most about it," said a Conception Bay North pharmacist. "As far as I am concerned that's very irresponsible....They can just come in, pick it up off the shelf and pay for it without consulting with anyone on the side effects. As a health care professional who is responsible for dispensing medication and caring for the health of the public, I'm not comfortable with that thought."

Marketed as an 'emergency contraceptive', Plan B releases high doses of synthetic progesterone which serves to prevent or to terminate a pregnancy in one of three ways: by inhibiting the release of an egg from the ovary; by preventing fertilization; or by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall.

In April 2005, Plan B became available in Canadian pharmacies at $30 a pill with consultation, as opposed to being available by prescription only. Since 2005, the drug's sales have doubled to 638,000, according to IMS Health Canada.

The drug's accessibility makes Canada the fifth country world-wide where a woman can go into a pharmacy and obtain the morning after pill without any consultation with health-care workers. Plan B is already sitting on pharmacy shelves in Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and India.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Abortifacient Morning After Pill Now Sold off the Shelf in Canada
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08051601.html

Plan B "Emergency Contraception" Now Available Over-the-Counter in British Columbia
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07052804.html

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