The controversy surrounding the potential switch of the Plan B emergency contraceptive therapy from prescription to over-thecounter status has been unprecedented. Regulatory, professional, and societal aspects of this issue have been discussed recently and will no doubt continue to be debated. In this editorial, members of the Medicine, Law, and Ethics panel of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy's Editorial Board offer a sampling of viewpoints touching on varying aspects of the controversy. Readers may wish to consider the ramifications of their professional decisions in this and similar situations in advance of having to make such decisions.
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LarssonaMEureniusaKWesterlingRTydenT.Emergency contraceptive pills over-the-counter: A population-based survey of young Swedish women. Contraception2004;69: 309–15.
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GrimesDARaymondEFJonesBS.Emergency contraception over-thecounter: The medical and legal imperatives. Obstet Gynecol2001;98: 151–5.
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RuddG.Avoiding pregnancy: “A plan” versus Plan B (opinion). Ann Pharmacother2004;38: 1535–6. DOI 10.1345/aph.1E363.
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TrussellJEllertsonCStewartFRaymondEGShochetT.The role of emergency contraception. Am J Obstet Gynecol2004;190(suppl 1):S30–8.
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FarrarSCYenariJGhermanRB.Emergency contraception: A “fire extinguisher” for unintended pregnancies. Primary Care Update for OB/GYNS2003;10: 284–7.
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RaineTHarperCLeonKDarneyP.Emergency contraception: Advance provision in a young, high-risk clinic population. Obstet Gynecol2000;96: 1–7.
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GoldMAWolfordJESmithKAParkerAM.The effects of advance provision of emergency contraception on adolescent women's sexual and contraceptive behavior. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol2004;17: 87–96.
16.
Ejecting the FDA from the courtroom (editorial). Lancet2004;364:638.
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The magnitude of maternal morbidity during labor and delivery, United States, 1993–1997. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/fs030327.htm (accessed 2004 Nov 5).
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Pregnancy-related mortality surveillance-United States, 1991–1999. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/fs030220.htm (accessed 2004 Nov 5).
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22.
Griswold et al. v Connecticut, No. 496, Supreme Court of the United States, 381 U.S. 479; 85 S. Ct. 1678; 14 L. Ed. 2d 510, 1965 U.S. Lexis 2282.
23.
Eisenstadt, Sheriff v Baird, No. 70–17, Supreme Court of the United States, 405 U.S. 438; 92 S. Ct. 1029; 31 L. Ed. 2d 349; 1972 U.S. Lexis 145.
24.
Roe v Wade (1973) 410 U.S. 113; 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147.
25.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, et al., Petitioners 91–744 v Robert P. Casey, et al. etc., Petitioners 91–902 v Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania et al. No. 91–474, Supreme Court of the United States, 505 U.S. 833; 112 S. Ct. 2791; 120 L. Ed. 2d 674; 1992 Lexis 4751.
26.
RosenbaumS.The impact of United States law on medicine as a profession. JAMA2003;289: 1546–56.
27.
CantorJBaumK.The limits of conscientious objection-may pharmacists refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception?N Engl J Med2004;351: 2008–12.
