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The morning after: pharmacies and medical freedom. (Citing).


MAKERS OF PLAN B, one of the two brands of "morning after" pills-high-dose birth control pills birth control pill
n.
See oral contraceptive.


birth control pill Oral contraceptive, see there
 that are only effective within 72 hours of unprotected sex-are planning to petition the FDA FDA
abbr.
Food and Drug Administration


FDA,
n.pr See Food and Drug Administration.

FDA,
n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration.
 for over-the-counter status. Such a move would make the drug much more useful: It's most effective within 12 hours of a slip-up, so having to get it directly from a doctor is practically prohibitive.

Already, four states allow doctors to give pharmacists This is a list of notable pharmacists.
  • Dora Akunyili, Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control of Nigeria
  • Charles Alderton (1857 - 1941), American inventor the soft drink Dr Pepper
  • George F.
 standing prescriptions to dispense the pills. California is one, but a recent Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times

Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name).
 piece suggests that well-meaning guardians of women's health Women's Health Definition

Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues.
 are out to make buying the drug more burdensome than "over-the-counter" would imply.

One of the benefits of selling pills without a prescription is financial; a woman without insurance wouldn't have to pay for a doctor's visit to protect herself against pregnancy. But California pharmacists have been tacking a $20 to $40 "consulting fee" onto the drug's $25 price for women without prescriptions. They say it's to pay for the 15 to 20 minutes they spend questioning a patient before doling out the drug.

Many pharmacists are also asking women to fill out a one-page questionnaire that asks about sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases

Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely
, among other things. It was developed by a group that seeks to make pharmacies more active in promoting community health.

"It was not the intent of the law to make pharmacists into public health officials," Shannon Smith-Crowley, a lobbyist for the California Medical Association, told the Times in May. "What information do they really need to gather?"

At this point, it's unclear whether FDA approval would factor both the pharmacist pharmacist /phar·ma·cist/ (fahr´mah-sist) one who is licensed to prepare and sell or dispense drugs and compounds, and to make up prescriptions.

phar·ma·cist
n.
 and the doctor out of the purchase. The agency often adds restrictions to over-the-counter sales.

"We are hoping that it will just be on the shelf, next to the condoms," says a spokeswoman for Women's Capital Corporation, Plan B's distributor. "But it will ultimately depend on decisions made with the FDA during the 10-month application process."
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Copyright 2003, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Author:Rimensnyder, Sara
Publication:Reason
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Aug 1, 2003
Words:324
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