Plan B Repackaged for Over-the-Counter Sales in Pharmacies Spurs Grassroots Effort to Ensure Women Have Access to this Safe, Effective Birth Control

Washington, D.C. — NARAL Pro-Choice America launched a nationwide campaign today to urge national pharmacy chains, such as CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens, to adopt corporate policies ensuring that each of their stores stocks Plan B®. The Plan B® emergency contraceptive, also known as the "morning-after" pill, has been repackaged for over-the-counter sales to women 18 and older.

"Plan B®'s availability over the counter is a huge victory for women's health, but it will take more work to ensure that women know about, and have access to, this safe, effective form of birth control and don't encounter delays or harassment at their local pharmacy," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "That is why we are asking all national pharmacy chains to ensure that each of their stores stocks Plan B®. We know that anti-birth-control groups and their allies in Congress and in the states will do anything – distort facts or push divisive legislation – to undermine women's access to birth control, including emergency contraception."

This nationwide campaign is NARAL Pro-Choice America's latest public-education effort regarding Plan B®. The organization waged a three-year campaign to urge Food and Drug Administration officials to overcome political interference by Bush appointees and follow the recommendation of medical and scientific experts who endorsed over-the-counter sales of the medication.

Following the FDA's announcement in August, NARAL Pro-Choice America issued a "Plan C for Plan B®," an outline of six steps federal and state policymakers could take to realize emergency contraception's full potential to prevent unintended pregnancy.

Plan C for Plan B

Six Steps Policymakers Should Take To Make the Most of Plan B®

On August 24, 2006, after more than three years of delay, the Food and Drug Administration finally agreed to allow women to purchase the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B® (also called the "morning-after" pill) without a prescription. Now, women age 18 and older can buy the medication directly from a pharmacy.

The decision is a big step forward for women's reproductive health and privacy – but in order to realize emergency contraception's full potential to prevent unintended pregnancy, policymakers need to take several additional steps:

1. Protect Women From Anti-Choice Pharmacists –In 2006 alone, 18 states considered measures that would have allowed pharmacists or pharmacies to refuse to fill women's birth-control prescriptions. That's why Congress must pass the Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act ("ALPhA": S.809/H.R.1652) – a bill that would ensure that a woman receives Plan B® and other forms of birth control – without harassment, lectures, or delay. And if Congress fails to act, state legislatures and governors must take the lead – as Illinois did, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich wrote a statewide policy that ensures pharmacies provide women with the birth-control medication they need.

2. and 3. Inform Rape Survivors About EC – Each year, approximately 25,000 women in the United States become pregnant as a result of sexual assault – but unbelievably, many hospitals fail (or refuse) to discuss emergency contraception with patients. Policymakers can, and should, take two actions to improve this situation.

The Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act ("CARE": S.1264/H.R.2928) would ensure that sexual-assault survivors learn about EC in hospital emergency rooms and are provided the medication upon request. And if Congress refuses to act, state "EC in the ER" laws could accomplish the same goal. To date, only eight states have enacted "EC in the ER" laws.

In 2004 the Bush Department of Justice published a book of guidelines advising hospital personnel on how to care for rape survivors. These guidelines make no mention of emergency contraception. In response, pro-choice lawmakers introduced the Best Help for Rape Victims Act (H.R.3171); it would correct the Bush administration's gross oversight by requiring the attorney general to include in the guidelines a recommendation that rape survivors should be informed about and offered EC as part of their medical treatment.

4. Educate Women and Doctors About EC – Even though Plan B® is available now without a prescription, too few women (and even doctors!) know what it is, how it works, and how to use it correctly. The Emergency Contraception Education Act (H.R.3326) would fund public-education campaigns, to inform women and health-care professionals that this medication is available, and is safe and effective at preventing pregnancy if taken within 72-120 hours of unprotected sex. Similarly, states could fund similar education outreach programs for doctors, pharmacists, and women.

5. Make EC Available To U.S. Servicewomen – The number of military women who suffer sexual assault while on duty is shocking. Most women stateside will be able to get EC over the counter now, but it's not automatically available to servicewomen at overseas bases, so victims of rape – or servicewomen who simply need to back-up their regular birth-control method – may not easily be able to obtain the medication in time. Rep. Mike Michaud's (D-ME) legislation, H.R.2635, would ensure that military health-care facilities stock EC and make it available to servicewomen and military dependents as part of the regular drug formulary on every base.

6. Make Real Efforts to Prevent Teen Pregnancy – Since the Bush administration is continuing to deny over-the-counter access to emergency contraception for women under age 18, now seems an appropriate time for anti-choice policymakers finally to face the epidemic of teen pregnancy. The new Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Responsibility, and Opportunity Act (S.2508/H.R.5332) would fund programs that educate teens about their risk of pregnancy, teach young people about the significant responsibilities that come with parenthood, and help parents discuss tough topics – like sex – with their kids. Similarly, states can and should fund effective teen-pregnancy prevention programs; the investment will pay off in lower teen-pregnancy rates, lower rates of sexually transmitted disease, fewer dropouts from school, and healthier families overall.

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032