Canadian Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew on Tuesday announced that Health Canada, the country's federal health agency, has proposed allowing emergency contraception to be sold in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription, Canada's National Post reports (Evenson, National Post, 5/19). Health Canada has proposed amending the federal Food and Drug Regulations to change the classification for the 0.75mg dosage of levonorgestrel from Schedule F to Schedule II. Schedule F drugs are available only with a doctor's prescription, while Schedule II drugs are available "behind the counter" from a pharmacy after professional consultation with the pharmacist. The amendment to the regulations will be published in Part I of the national government newspaper, Canada Gazette, and stakeholders will have 75 days in which to comment. After that period, the amendment will be published in Canada Gazette Part II, signifying final approval. Following final approval, the provincial and territorial pharmacy regulators will work with the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities' National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee to determine conditions for behind-the-counter sale of EC (Health Canada release, 5/18). EC already is available without a doctor's prescription in the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan, according to the Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg Free Press, 5/19). Provincial rules say that pharmacists could refuse to dispense EC for moral or religious reasons, according to the Post (National Post, 5/19).

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Pettigrew said that making EC available without a doctor's prescription would "give timely access to [EC] for women and help prevent unwanted pregnancies," according to the AP/Albany Times Union (AP/Albany Times Union, 5/19). However, some women's health advocates said the government's proposal "does not go far enough" because the pills will not be available without first consulting with a pharmacist, according to the Post. "There is no compelling medical argument to require contact with the pharmacist to obtain [EC]," Madeline Boscoe, executive director of the Canadian Women's Health Network, said (National Post, 5/19). Some abortion-rights opponents have "denounced" the proposal, according to the AP/Times Union (AP/Albany Times Union, 5/19). "It prevents the baby that's been conceived from implanting, so the abortion takes place within the woman," Mary Ellen Douglas, national organizer of the Campaign Life Coalition, said (National Post, 5/19). The Canadian government's decision comes after FDA earlier this month rejected Barr Laboratories' application to sell the emergency contraceptive Plan B over the counter in the United States, citing concerns that the company had not proved that teenagers could take the drug safely without doctor supervision (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 5/7). As a result, the Canadian decision could result in some U.S. women traveling to Canada to obtain EC without a doctor's prescription, according to the New York Times (Krauss, New York Times, 5/19).