By Gudrun Schultz

BRITISH COLUMBIA, May 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Plan B emergency contraception, the so-called “morning-after pill”, is now available in British Columbia pharmacies without a prescription from a pharmacist and without a mandatory informed consent sheet.

The abortifacient drug, used to prevent conception or end early-stage pregnancy, can cause the death of an unborn child in the first days of life by preventing it from implanting in its mother’s womb.

The pill has been moved from a Schedule IV designation—requiring a prescription from a doctor or trained pharmacist, and an informed consent sheet—to Schedule II, which means it is available over-the-counter but kept within eyesight of the pharmacist to allow for minimal instruction in safe usage. The new regulations apply only to Plan B* emergency contraception, with alternative brands still requiring a prescription and informed consent sheet.

Opponents of the drug cite serious health risks to women—including an increase in potentially fatal ectopic pregnancies—and inadequate information on the drug’s function as an abortifacient as reasons for their opposition. While the recommended information package accompanying the drug admits it may prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, the package also states misleadingly that the drug will not interrupt a pregnancy already underway—medical science acknowledges fertilization of an egg as the point of conception and the beginning of pregnancy.

Opponents say without a mandatory informed consent sheet, women will be denied important information about the dangers of the drug and the abortifacient nature of the drug. As well, women will be less likely to receive testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases if they do not have to contact their doctors for a prescription for the drug.

"Physical and clinical examinations by a physician are essential to good healthcare: to counsel patients on how to reliably avoid pregnancy, to determine sexually-transmitted diseases and abusive or coercive relationships, and to discuss health risks," Dr. Will Johnston, president of Canadian Physicians for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com in an earlier report. "MAP does not protect against STDs and instead of preventing a pregnancy, may terminate it. Such serious issues cannot be adequately addressed at a pharmacist’s counter."

Information released by the College of pharmacists and doctors stated, “Schedule II drug counseling standards should be followed when Plan B is provided; review the Framework of Professional Practice if necessary.”

In 2000 British Columbia’s then-Premier Ujjal Dosanjh changed the pharmacy bylaws, allowing all pharmacists to prescribe morning after pills directly to women.

In 2005, Health Canada approved the sale of Plan B directly from pharmacies across Canada, following B.C., Saskatchewan and Quebec.

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Canadian Physicians Group Warns of Dangers of "Morning After Pill"
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/may/04052005.html

Health Canada Cited as Deceiving and Two-Faced on Abortion-Causing Morning After Pill
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/apr/05041306.html

BC LAUNCHING "MASSIVE" "EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION" PILOT PROGRAM
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2000/aug/00080101.html

BC PREMIER DEMANDS PHARMACISTS DISPENSE ‘EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION’
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2000/oct/00101604.html

B.C. PHARMACISTS NOW "PRESCRIBING" MORNING AFTER PILLS
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2000/dec/00120101.html