Plan B

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Anyone else think Plan B will get GROSSLY out of hand? I think alot of 18 years old will be running to walmart every sunday nite!

Also, cant it hurt a woman' s body if she takes Plan b too many times?

As someone else already mentioned, since Plan B CAN keep a fertilized egg from implanting, then it is abortion to those of us who believe that a fertilized egg IS life. So, it won't keep people from having abortions. They'll just have very early abortions.

As to whether it leads to promiscuity - I think there are many more things that play into that then just having a pill available.

I have seen women use abortion as birth control - my own sister had five that I personally know about. She has three children from three different men and fortunately had a tubal. Thank God.

I've taught my kids that if you decide to have sex you MUST take into consideration the fact that pregnancy can occur. That you are at risk for an STD. That your heart may be broken. It is a big deal - not something to be taken lightly.

steph

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I don't think Plan B should be used as a primary means of birth control...and as hard as it may be to believe, threre are women out there who do. We used to have a lady who came to the ER at least a couple of times a year seeking emergency contraception.

I think having Plan B OTC is a good idea...hopefully, it will prevent a lot of unwanted pregnancies. One of the big issues I see with it is availability. I don't really think it should be available just sitting there next to the Tylenol and Advil...it is a good idea to keep it behind the counter. But, I have pretty mixed feelings about having it available only at pharmacies. I live in a small town with one pharmacy...it is privately owned and managed and the owner is a strict Catholic who doesn't believe in birth control in any form...yes, he stocks and dispenses birth control pills, but he refuses to stock condoms. I'm 99% sure he won't stock Plan B OTC...so women in this small town still won't have that option unless they make a 75 mile journey to the south. If it were stocked in places like K-Mart, grocery stores, etc, it would be much more accessible...I doubt that the big chains would refuse another way to make $60.

that's ridiculous! he'll dispense bc pills but he won't sell condoms? condoms are the only thing that can help prevent the transmission of hiv and stds!

he should lose his license over such irresponsibilty!!!!!

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As someone else already mentioned, since Plan B CAN keep a fertilized egg from implanting, then it is abortion to those of us who believe that a fertilized egg IS life. So, it won't keep people from having abortions. They'll just have very early abortions.

As to whether it leads to promiscuity - I think there are many more things that play into that then just having a pill available.

I have seen women use abortion as birth control - my own sister had five that I personally know about. She has three children from three different men and fortunately had a tubal. Thank God.

I've taught my kids that if you decide to have sex you MUST take into consideration the fact that pregnancy can occur. That you are at risk for an STD. That your heart may be broken. It is a big deal - not something to be taken lightly.

steph

technically i understand that once the egg is fertilized you consider the inability to implant makes it an abortion.

i just want to ask about another form of abortion, and why no one talk about it.

everyday women enter fertility clinics and have their eggs artificially inseminated. then they chose a few embryos to be placed back in their uteruses. the other embryos, if not frozen, are discarded or used for research. this is technically aborting life.

even if they embryos are frozen, after so many years, is it technically abandonment, since there's life?

pro life people applaud these couples as they go through this process... but i never hear of anyone questioning these practices.

anyone want to share their opinions on these matters??.....

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As someone else already mentioned, since Plan B CAN keep a fertilized egg from implanting, then it is abortion to those of us who believe that a fertilized egg IS life. So, it won't keep people from having abortions. They'll just have very early abortions.

You're right, many people feel the same way you do about this topic, however; that same point of view hasn't stopped IUDs from being dispensed regularly for BC. There is more than one type of BC that works via preventing the fertilized egg from implanting and they are widely accepted and used. IMO Plan B is only different in that it isn't intended to be a *primary* form of BC.

The person being intervied in the news report I mentioned earlier was strongly against Plan B and yet freely administered IUDs to her patients. Explain that one!? :lol2:

RNin'08

~my reality check bounced~

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Specializes in urgent care, GYN, primary care.

I have always had one area of confusion about the "a fertilized egg IS life" way of thought. There are times when an egg is fertilized, but due to the timing of its fertilization (e.g., it's too low in the uterus), by the time it's ready for implantation a few days later, it's already "fallen" out of the uterus. Is that an abortion? Also, if you take any NSAID (ibuprofen, celebrex, naproxen, etc.), it can have the same effect as Plan B - decreasing the chances of implantation of a fertilized egg. Does that mean NSAID's need to be controlled/labels added?

I am very happy Plan B will be available, but sad to know how many pharmacists will probably not stock it. For those in small towns, it may be just as difficult to get Plan B as to have access to a reliable birth control method.

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Does that mean NSAID's need to be controlled/labels added?

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

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Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.

According to articles I've read recently, Plan B will prevent fertilization by altering the climate, if you will, of the tube, and also by preventing ovulation. The prevention of implantation is rare--one authority thought it was "never". I wish I could cite the particular articles, but I did find some material by just googling "Plan B".

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What, b/t/w, would be the rationale behind insisting on a pelvic exam before prescribing? What could you find that would contraindicate the drug except unexplained bleeding? And a PAP test is desirable in general, but is it your opinion that it should be mandatory before ANY birth control use? (If the prescription is dependent on the results, that is just delaying until the window of efficacy has passed.)

I really don't know his logic...he just won't do it. His license, his decision. I live in a very conservative area...out of 12 providers in town, only ONE will even consider giving emergency contraception. We have two PAs that would do it if their physician supervisor would allow it...he has threatened to terminate anyone in his clinic who prescribes it. Personally, I would like to see all forms of birth control available OTC...it would prevent a lot of unwanted pregnancies...it might increase the number of people having sex, but...

I think there are concerns about women who request emergency contraception frequently. I worry that the woman I know who comes to the ER a couple of times a year is engaging in high risk behaviors...I have concerns about disease, substance abuse (she has told me more than once that she was drunk and didn't know if he used a condom), physical abuse, because I know some of the people she spends time with, etc...

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Specializes in ER, Tele, L&D. ICU.

I am a Pharmacist in Canada and Plan B has been available OTC to ALL AGES since then. Granted we dispense it a lot more-some repeaters-but considering I also work in L&D I see the other side. A decrease in unwanted pregnancies is alright by me. When I see the ppl coming in to buy Plan B and they can barely scrape the money up for that...probably a good thing in the long run.

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Specializes in ER, Tele, L&D. ICU.
If I understand it right, the "morning after" pills, basically automatically induce your period, and happens to be extremely painful (intense cramping) from the unnatural uterine contractions. I'm sure it would definitely be an experience that a young woman would not want to go through again. So, I doubt it that it would be frequently used by the same person.

The "morning after" pill -RU486 and Ovral21/28 are not the same as Plan B.

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Specializes in Emergency.

I'm curious if Plan B is going to be avalible for mail order like other medications are. So the women in the small town who's pharmacist won't dispense it can obtain it to have on hand for EC.

From reading all the posts there are alot of what ifs. We still don't know how they intend to market it. My guess it going to be that they are going to encourgage the consumer to buy it and have it in advance of that oops.

Also someone mentioning twice a year use as being alot. Well look at the failure rate of condoms. For example at 10% with someone using them 3 times a week that 15 failures over a year. That potentially 15 needs for EC.

Rj

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I can't believe insurance doesn't cover BC pills......is that common? I've never had to buy them.

My health insurance plan doesn't pay for birth control pills, or any kind of contraception. I have to pay $30 a month myself for BC pills. :madface: As far as Plan B goes, I'm glad that it will be available OTC, since it is only effective the first 72 hours after sex. Some women may be unable to get a doctor's appointment for a prescription in time for the pill to work, so Plan B being available OTC will be a livesaver for them.

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