If the FDA allows emergency contraception to be sold without a doctor's prescription, the move could "usher in a new era deepening the moral debate about some of the most intimate and sensitive decisions individuals can make," the Christian Science Monitor reports (Marks, Christian Science Monitor, 12/18). A joint meeting of two FDA advisory panels on Tuesday voted 23-4 to recommend that the emergency contraceptive Plan B be sold without a prescription. EC, which can significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse, is thought to work by interrupting ovulation, preventing fertilization of an egg or inhibiting a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Five states -- Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Washington and California -- already have expanded access to EC by allowing pharmacists to prescribe the drug directly to women. In addition, EC is available through pharmacies without a prescription in 30 of the 101 countries where it is sold. In three other countries -- Israel, Norway and Sweden -- EC is sold over the counter. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan will make the final decision on the drug's status (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 12/17). Supporters of nonprescription EC say that expanded access to the drug could reduce unwanted pregnancies by half and could prevent thousands of abortions, according to the Monitor. However, opponents of EC say that increased access to EC will lead to "more irresponsible sexual behavior" and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the Monitor reports (Christian Science Monitor, 12/18). Many newspapers have published editorials discussing EC. Summaries of some of them are summarized below:

• Arizona Daily Star: The FDA should follow the recommendation of its advisory panels because "[w]idespread availability of the morning-after pill would be an important step in preventing unwanted pregnancies," a Daily Star editorial says. The editorial concludes that the "most compelling reason" to make Plan B more "easily accessible is time," because the drug is more effective the sooner it is administered after sex (Arizona Daily Star, 12/19).
  


• Boston Globe: The FDA should give a "green light" to allowing EC to be sold without a prescription because it is "safe" and can prevent unwanted pregnancy, a Globe editorial says. Plan B should be sold with "appropriate warnings and advice" about seeing a doctor for information on primary contraception, the editorial says, adding that if the FDA does not approve EC for sale without a prescription, Massachusetts should adopt laws that allow emergency rooms to provide EC to rape survivors and pharmacists to dispense EC from behind the counter (Boston Globe, 12/16).
  


• Chicago Tribune: EC is "essentially safe and effective with minimal side-effects" and should be made "readily available" to adults, according to a Tribune editorial. However, concerns about teenagers having access to EC without parental consent are "valid," the editorial says, adding that although there are risks to allowing teenagers access to EC, such risks are "significantly outweighed by the potential benefits" that include reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The editorial concludes that the benefits of expanding EC access are "well worth it" (Chicago Tribune, 12/18).
  


• Denver Post: Allowing access to nonprescription EC "makes sense" because EC is "far less intrusive, dangerous and expensive than an abortion procedure," a Post editorial says. Arguments suggesting that women will not use "traditional" contraception if EC is available are "hogwash" and imply that "American women are somehow dumber or less responsible than European women," who have had access to EC for a long time without abandoning other contraception, the editorial says. Women in the United States are "far more intelligent than the buttinskis who are trying to tell them how to live their lives," and they should have easier access to EC, the editorial concludes (Denver Post, 12/18).
  


• Detroit Free Press: Plan B "does nothing to stop sexually transmitted diseases," meaning that the "societal message about responsible behavior and the dangers of casual, unprotected sex must continue," a Free-Press editorial says. The editorial concludes that the "pluses [of selling Plan B without a prescription] far outweigh the minuses," therefore the "FDA ought to proceed" (Detroit Free Press, 12/18).
  


• Hartford Courant: McClellan should "expedite approval" of selling Plan B without a prescription because it "constitutes responsible policy, given its safety and relative lack of side effects," a Courant editorial says, concluding, "There's no reason to delay" (Hartford Courant, 12/19).
  


• Long Island Newsday: The FDA should allow EC to be displayed "on store shelves" because EC could prevent "half the unintended pregnancies and half the abortions in the United States," a Newsday editorial says, concluding that the FDA should "add the United States" to the list of countries that allow the drug to be sold without a prescription (Long Island Newsday, 12/17).
  


• Louisville Courier-Journal: Making EC available without a prescription should be a "no-brainer" because EC reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions, a Courier-Journal editorial says. Many EC opponents "oppose birth control pills entirely," but that is "radical thinking" that should not "control women's options," the editorial says, concluding that the FDA's decision about EC "should be easy: yes" (Louisville Courier-Journal, 12/16).
  


• Miami Herald: The FDA panels "got it right" when they recommended Plan B be sold without a prescription, a Herald editorial says, concluding that the FDA should allow Plan B to be sold without a prescription and "support a woman's right to decide what happens to her body" (Miami Herald, 12/18).
  


• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Concerns about selling EC without a prescription are "legitimate," but those who favor increased EC access "make the more compelling argument," a Journal-Sentinel editorial says. If EC is "marketed responsibly," its "potential benefits to prevent unwanted pregnancies far outweigh" any "potential problems," the editorial concludes (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/17).
  


• Minneapolis Star-Tribune: The FDA "shouldn't worry too much" about approving EC for sale without a prescription because EC is "remarkably effective" at preventing pregnancy and is "terrifically safe," a Star-Tribune editorial says. Only a "few nervous Nellies" object to expanded EC access, as 2.4 million women worldwide have used EC "virtually without incident," according to the Star-Tribune. EC access is a "matter of public health, not morality" and increased access "would benefit millions," the editorial concludes (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 12/18).
  


• New York Times: "Science and public health triumphed over ideology" in the FDA panels' decision, moving "the nation a vital step closer toward a change in government policy that could sharply reduce unwanted pregnancies and, in turn, the need for abortions," a Times editorial says. McClellan should "rise above any political pressure ... and promptly decide to follow the committees' advice," the editorial concludes (New York Times, 12/18).
  


• Philadelphia Daily News: The FDA has been "murky" about approving EC for use without a prescription, but "[s]wift passage would be the best route," a Daily News editorial says. EC has been "wrongly likened to abortion" by opponents, but antiabortion advocates should "welcome the drug" because it can prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions, the Daily News says. EC has been "credited" with preventing 50,000 abortions, which is "more than the anti-choice folks can claim," the editorial concludes (Philadelphia Daily News, 12/18).
  


• Providence Journal: EC is "contraception, not abortion," and the drug could prevent more than one million unwanted pregnancies annually and "many" abortions, a Journal editorial says, concluding that "the public health advantages of this pill make a powerful argument for its over-the-counter authorization" (Providence Journal, 12/19).
  


• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "By all of the FDA's usual standards, [the proposal] should be easily approved," but the agency is under "great political pressure" from some conservative groups to reject the change, a Post-Dispatch editorial says. However, making EC readily available could "reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions, ... goals [that] all sides of the abortion debate can all support," the editorial concludes (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/19).
  


• St. Paul Pioneer Press: The argument that the drug will increase promiscuity and the spread of STDs is "an old argument about any sort of birth control," which has "never held up to proof," a Pioneer Press editorial says. McClellan should avoid letting the decision "get snagged in the Bush administration's politics over women's reproductive rights" and make the "straightforward public health decision" to approve increased access to EC, the editorial concludes (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 12/19).
  


• San Francisco Chronicle: The "final decision" on EC "should be based on science and safety, not the politics of abortion," a Chronicle editorial says. Therefore, "[u]nless the FDA can document a valid medical or scientific reason to oppose widespread access, the agency should grant approval" of nonprescription EC, the editorial concludes (San Francisco Chronicle, 12/16).
  


• San Jose Mercury News: Because the FDA "has already determined that [EC] ... is very safe," it is "unacceptable -- and potentially disastrous" that McClellan expects to make a decision within a "'matter of months,'" a Mercury News editorial says. "Women deserve the right to prevent unwanted pregnancies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not just when pharmacists are available to dispense the drug," the editorial concludes (San Jose Mercury News, 12/17).
  


• Santa Rosa Press Democrat: "If science was the only criteria, the panel's decision would be easy" because EC has been "safely used for up to 25 years," a Press Democrat editorial says. The FDA should "steer clear of the moral and emotional arguments -- and focus on the medical pros and cons of the morning-after pill," the editorial concludes (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 12/16).
  


• Tennessean: Although "[r]eligion, morality and politics have all been part of the debate" on EC, the "ultimate decision about how it is sold should be based on science," a Tennessean editorial says. Plan B "meets [the] criteria" that the FDA uses to decide whether to sell a drug without a prescription, the editorial says. In addition, "[a]ll of the medical organizations have voiced" support and the "FDA has every reason to do the same," the editorial concludes (Tennessean, 12/17).
  


• Winston-Salem Journal: "Full access [to EC] is the right way to go" because "[r]equiring women to request the drug from a pharmacist could be inhibiting," a Journal editorial says, concluding that the drug is a "safe, reliable way" to help achieve the goal of "reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies" (Winston Salem-Journal, 12/17).
  

Media Coverage
The following broadcast programs reported on Plan B:

• CBS' "Early Show": The segment includes comments from Barr Laboratories President and COO Carole Ben-Maimon and Wendy Wright, senior policy director of Concerned Women of America (Senay, "Early Show," CBS, 12/17). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• NPR's "Day to Day": NPR's Patricia Neighmond describes how Plan B works (Chadwick, "Day to Day," NPR, 12/16). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer": The segment includes comments from Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Gloria Feldt and Wright (Suarez, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 12/17). The complete transcript of the segment is available online. The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• WAMU's "Diane Rehm Show": The segment includes comments from Wright and Dr. Felicia Stewart, chair of the board of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and co-director of the University of California San Francisco's Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy (Rehm, "Diane Rehm Show," WAMU, 12/18). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.