The FDA has approved a new formulation of the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill, called Plan B One-Step. Rather than taking a succession of 2 pills, the formulation requires only 1 pill to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Plan B reduces the chances of pregnancy from occurring. It will not work if a woman is already pregnant and it will not terminate a pregnancy. Later this month Plan B One-Step will be available over the counter, without a prescription, to females 17 years or older. Women under 17 will need a prescription for the product in all but nine states: Pharmacy-access laws in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Vermont allow women of any age to purchase the drug without a prescription. [Via San Francisco Examiner]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi!
Is it avilable in germany or via internet?
sunny regards,
ralf
July 16th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I took the plan b pill and it didn’t work for me. I ended up pregnant, but had a miscarriage 2 months later. Its not a 100% effective.
July 18th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Are you sure this article is right? It claims the pill does not terminate a pregnancy but it doesn’t say how. For instance, if there’s a live embryo (early developing baby) there, doesn’t he or she die anyway because now there’s nowhere to find a safe “home” in this chemically changed birthplace?