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"MORNING AFTER PILL" AVAILABLE WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION
By an Order in Council, (a rubber stamp by
the Cabinet), the left wing Minister of Health, The Hon. Ujjal
Dosanjh, a former NDP member of the British Columbia Legislature,
amended the Food and Drug Regulations to allow the so-called
Morning After Pill (MAP), or emergency contraceptive (EC),
called Levonogestrel, sold under the brand name Plan B, to
be made available without a prescription. Pharmacists will
be in charge of "screening, counseling, referrals and
follow-up", under the supervision of provincial pharmacists'
associations.
An Impact Analysis Statement from Health Canada
(called a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement or RIAS) advises
that the EC "can prevent pregnancy" by preventing
release of the ovum, preventing fertilization or "preventing
the fertilized egg [embryo] from attaching to the wall of
the uterus." This means that the MAP is not a contraceptive,
but an abortifacient, because a child would have been conceived
at the moment the egg was fertilized by the sperm. Plan B
does, therefore, cause abortions, contrary to the Ministry
of Health's propaganda.
Also, contrary to popular propaganda, the
MAP is not one pill but multiple pills. Two 0.75mg pills are
to be taken, one within 72 hours, preferably within 24 hours
after possible conception, and another within 12 hours of
the first dose. Other literature recommends taking another
dose if vomiting occurs. The Health Canada Statement admits
that nausea and vomiting are possible side effects. The World
Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend recurrent use
of Plan B, but how can this be kept in check if no prescription
is involved?
Some respondents to Health Canada consultations
on this regulation were quoted in the RIAS statement, "there
is a need to ensure that all provinces and territories have
policies to ensure that pharmacists, who refuse to dispense
the medication for moral reasons, are expected to ... 'as
a standard care, to refer the woman to another pharmacist,
physician or health facility where the medication can be readily
obtained.'" Pro-life physicians have expressed concern
about the lack of freedom of conscience for pharmacists to
refuse to refer their customers.
Groups (whose identity is confidential) expressing
support for the MAP in the Health Canada RIAS claim that its
use "would result in reduced costs to the health care
system", and that increased awareness with the help of
health professionals, teachers and social workers is "essential."
Can we expect the dispensing of these pills in schools, as
contraceptive pills are now dispensed in Quebec? How can we
be sure that individuals won't buy the MAP to keep it "on
hand" in case of future emergencies and ensure that there
will not be a repeat use of the pills, contrary to the WHO
warnings?
When asked recently by the media to comment
on this unrestricted access to the MAP, REAL Women noted the
Liberal government's policy on the morning after pills disregarded
women's health because such hormone use should be under the
supervision of a physician, since among other considerations,
we do not know the effects of multiple dose "contraceptives"
on women, and especially on the developing reproductive system
of teenagers. We pointed out that when the MAP was provided
in British Columbia over the counter, it did not reduce the
number of surgical or other abortions, as proponents had claimed
it would. We also stated that this is not the first time that
women have been used as guinea pigs to try out new drugs.
Norplant (contraceptive strips implanted in the arm) has been
taken off the market because of complaints about its serious
side effects. Diethystilbestrol was prescribed to pregnant
women to prevent pregnancy complications, but was later found
to cause higher risks of cancers and reproductive anomalies
in the offspring of the women who took it. The popular arthritis
drug Vioxx has recently been removed from the market due to
its health risks such as an increased incidence of heart attack
and stroke. Estrogen-progestin pills, taken to reduce menopausal
symptoms, appear to raise the risk of blood clots, heart attacks,
strokes and breast cancer. When these and other drugs were
introduced, these medications were praised to the sky for
their supposed "benefits" to women.
The distribution of MAP without prescription
is yet another example of why we cannot trust the Minister
of Health to ensure the safety of Canadian women.
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