Plan B now widely available here.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

A drug that could dramatically reduce the number of unintended pregnancies is now available over the counter to adults at most major pharmacies in Oregon, an official with the state Department of Human Services said Tuesday.

The emergency contraceptive Plan B was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August for purchase without a prescription by people age 18 or older. But there was a lag of months in some states before the product was available, officials said.

Now, most major pharmacies in Oregon sell Plan B over the counter, said Rian Frachele, a repro- ductive-health manager with the department's public health division.

`If (customers) looked last September and it wasn't there, then it is there now,' she said. "We want to make sure that people are aware of its availability."

A spokeswoman with the Rite Aid pharmacy chain said Plan B has been available over the counter since November at more than 3,000 stores nationwide, but she wouldn't discuss sales. Rite Aid has five pharmacies in Lane County.

On a smaller scale, Everett's Villa Pharmacy in Eugene has stocked Plan B for over-the-counter use since December but hasn't sold a single unit, owner David Jorgensen said.

Women's advocates and family-planning groups support emergency contraception such as Plan B, saying it could prevent 1.5 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions a year.

But members of the anti-abortion movement say the drug is dangerous to women and comparable to an abortion.

Some customers have been unable to find the product for over-the-counter purchase in Eugene and Portland, said Kellie DeVore, a spokeswoman with Eugene-based Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon.

"We've heard from clients who went to their local pharmacy and their local pharmacy wasn't shelving it or stocking it," DeVore said. "You have to know to ask for it."

Portland-based Oregonians for Life opposes Plan B because it can cause blood clots, stroke and potentially severe pregnancy complications, said Mary Starrett, executive director.

"These high levels of hormones are dangerous," she said. "It's not a safe drug for women."

Frachele, of the state health department, said no serious side effects have been found. Side effects can include nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache and menstrual changes, Planned Parenthood has said.

Emergency contraception is not an abortion pill. Instead, it works like other birth control to prevent pregnancy, primarily by suppressing the release of an egg from the ovary, or else preventing fertilization of an egg, the state agency said. Plan B will not affect a fertilized egg that already is attached to the uterus, said the drug's manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Supporters say that emergency contraceptives, which prevent pregnancy, should not be confused with abortion pills such as mifepristone that terminate a pregnancy.

Over-the-counter availability will make it easier for customers to take Plan B within 24 to 72 hours after unprotected intercourse, when the drug is most effective, supporters say. Plan B costs about $40 for one dose of two pills. Women under age 18 still need a prescription to buy it, officials said.