A joint meeting of two FDA advisory panels last week 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, 12/19). Many newspapers have published editorials and opinion pieces discussing EC. Summaries of some of them appear below.

Editorials

• Akron Beacon Journal: McClellan, who "has already encountered pressure from opponents of abortion, who have an ally in his boss, President Bush," should "follow science and the law" and approve nonprescription EC, a Beacon Journal editorial says. The FDA should launch "an effective education campaign" regarding the purpose of Plan B, because "as valuable as the message of abstinence is, many young women are sexually active," the editorial says, concluding that EC "amounts to a responsible option in an emergency" (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/22).
  


• Austin American-Statesman: The FDA's decision-making process should be "science-based," and the agency should approve the nonprescription sale of EC despite objections on "moral grounds," an American-Statesman editorial says. The FDA should not try to "shape public morality" but should ensure that drugs are "safe and perform as advertised," the editorial says. Although concerns that wider EC availability will lead to increased teen promiscuity are "legitimate," the FDA "cannot justify" limiting EC availability for "millions of adult women who want it," the editorial concludes (Austin American-Statesman, 12/21).
  


• Dayton Daily News: There is "overwhelming" evidence that EC is safe and effective for preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex and "women are entitled to that option," a Daily News editorial says. Although the "potential for overuse and increased teenage promiscuity is real," the FDA should not "limit access to this form of contraception in the hope that doing so will deter people from having unprotected sex or sex altogether," the editorial says (Dayton Daily News, 12/19).
  


• Greensboro News & Record: EC could help prevent "half of the three million unwanted pregnancies in America" and could be dispensed to rape survivors for emergency use, a News & Record editorial says. Increased access to EC would also "reaffirm" the "privacy principle" that women have the right to make decisions about their bodies and the right to prevent pregnancy, the editorial says (Greensboro News & Record, 12/19).
  


• Honolulu Star-Bulletin: McClellan should follow the FDA panels' recommendations by approving EC for sale without a prescription and not "succumb to pressure from conservative and antiabortion camps," a Star-Bulletin editorial says. EC can reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy by 89% and could give rape survivors "assurance that the assault won't be horribly compounded by pregnancy," the editorial says. If McClellan follows a "science-based process" in considering the decision, "his choice is clear," the Star-Bulletin concludes (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 12/19).
  


• Oregonian: The FDA should "act quickly" to approve EC for sale without a prescription, an Oregonian editorial says. EC has the "potential to do something close to revolutionizing contraception" and could "dramatically improve" chances for preventing unwanted pregnancies, according to the editorial. EC is "safe and easy to use" and should be "in the hands of the people," the Oregonian concludes (Oregonian, 12/20).
  


• Philadelphia Inquirer: EC has been proven "safe and effective," and one study estimated that EC prevented "50,000 abortions in the year 2000 alone," an Inquirer editorial says. The "biggest problem" with EC is that it is "difficult to get," the editorial says, concluding that EC should "not be judged on whether it's a cure-all for risky sexual conduct" but on its effectiveness in preventing pregnancy, which it "does very well" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/21).
  


• Rome News-Tribune: The "best way" to "massive[ly]" reduce the number of abortions is to make EC more widely available, a News-Tribune editorial says. In addition, states could experience "big savings" on Medicaid costs if EC were more available because states cover most costs associated with unwanted pregnancies, according to the editorial. It is "better for children to be born wanted than viewed as a burden," and EC access could allow the "public purse" to be "greatly lightened," the News-Tribune concludes (Rome News-Tribune, 12/14).
  


• Virginian-Pilot: The FDA "without further delay" should approve EC for sale without a prescription, because preventing unwanted pregnancies is a "common sense" public health measure, a Virginian-Pilot editorial says. There is "no legitimate health purpose" to requiring women to get a doctor's prescription before accessing EC, and requiring prescriptions only "boosts the likelihood of a future abortion," the editorial says. A "'just say no' attitude to sex is not a realistic option," and women "need the information and the tools to make informed choices about their own bodies," the editorial concludes (Virginian-Pilot, 12/20).
  

Opinion Pieces

• Debbie Blair, Lexington Herald-Leader: "Government oversight of medicine is meant to protect and enhance public health," and expanded access to emergency contraception would "do just that," Blair, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass, writes in a Herald-Leader opinion piece. Therefore, the FDA should "move quickly" to approve sale of Plan B without a prescription, Blair concludes (Blair, Lexington Herald-Leader, 12/22).
  


• Roni Rabin, Long Island Newsday: EC "acts to prevent a pregnancy, not terminate one, and is more like a super birth control pill," staff writer Rabin writes in a Newsday opinion piece. However, people "should still have a Plan A" because the drug has not been tested for long-term use on a regular basis, Rabin says. Rabin adds that it is "too bad" that sales of the drug without a prescription would allow teenage girls to obtain the medication without visiting a doctor, meaning that they may "mis[s] out on getting a prescription for a more effective form of birth control" (Rabin, Long Island Newsday, 12/23).
  


• Katie Roiphe, Los Angeles Times: "Before the 'morning-after' pill becomes as common as aspirin, perhaps we should know the mystery and richness of the night before," Roiphe, author of the novel Still She Haunts Me, writes in a Times opinion piece. Although selling EC without a prescription "seems like a sensible ... thing to do" because "anything that gives women more power over their own bodies should be applauded," our society may not need "another way to distance our bodies from biology, to make conception even more of an afterthought than it already is," Roiphe says (Roiphe, Los Angeles Times, 12/21).
  


• Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle: "Making the morning-after pill available nationwide without a prescription makes such obvious, solid sense that opponents are twisting themselves into knots trying to make their arguments," Ryan, a columnist, writes in a Chronicle opinion piece. Ryan says some antiabortion advocates claim that selling the drug without a prescription will increase promiscuity, adding, "Truly, sometimes I wonder if the really hard-core pro-life people know any actual adolescents" (Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/19).
  


• Darshak Sanghavi, Boston Globe: "Ignoring teen sexual behavior," outlawing abortion or making abortion less accessible will not help to reduce the number of abortions in the United States, Sanghavi, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School, writes in a Globe opinion piece. However, making Plan B, which is "safe, easily self-administered and effective," more widely available will, Sanghavi concludes (Sanghavi, Boston Globe, 12/23).
  


• Rebekah Warren, Detroit Free Press: Expanded access to Plan B would "give more women a last chance to avoid pregnancy" and would prevent "tens of thousands of unintended pregnancies and abortions nationwide," Warren, executive director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan writes in a Free Press letter to the editor. "If anti-choice groups are serious about reducing the number of abortions, they should join us in ensuring that women are given every opportunity to avoid unintended pregnancies," Warren concludes (Warren, Detroit Free Press, 12/23).