The controversial 'morning after' pill intended for emergency birth control has done quite well on the market in the year since its release, selling an estimated $80 million in over-the-counter sales since the non-prescription drug was approved in November 2006.

Still, there are critics on moral and safety grounds who still continue to fight the ruling that made the product available to anyone with cash and local pharmacy. Does the drug have a chance of being taken off the market or being made into a prescription-only drug? In my estimation, not likely. That is, until someone gets ill or dies from side effects.

Do you think the morning-after pill should remain stocked on store shelves? Different moral points of view are sure to invite disagreement on that one even outside safety issues (if there are any).

Source

If you've used the "Plan B" morning-after form of birth control, you're in a pretty large group right now. The morning after pill was rejected for OTC sale then approved as an OTC item recently -- and since, sales of the morning-after pill have done nothing but go up.

But it's not helping the overall pregnancy rate in the population, according to researchers. The morning after pill seems to work for individual women, though. Why aren't the numbers of pregnancies declining, then?

The researchers for this study stated that easy access to emergency contraception does not reduce unintended pregnancy rates. Are women not taking the pill as required or without counseling on how to properly use the product, then?

Source

The controversial and over-the-counter version of the morning-after pill is now available at pharmacies nationwide after just a month of initial distribution. Some companies must have seen huge demand here, as that is incredibly fast for nationwide distribution of anything in any market.

The group 'Planned Parenthood' celebrated Wednesday with a free giveaway of the emergency contraceptive. The other side's critics insisted that the morning-after pill -- commonly called " Plan B" -- now has such widespread accessibility that it will cause regret for many.

The morning-after pill was the focus of bitter debate for years before the FDA said in August that any customer over the age of 18 should be able to buy it in pharmacies without a prescription. That is now a reality in nationwide pharmacies. The drug contains a high dose of a drug found in many regular birth-control pills and can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

Source

If controversy truly sparks sales, then the makers of the Plan B morning-after pill should see sales skyrocket after today's decision by the Food and Drug Administration. The regulatory agency just announced they will allow the controversial pill to be available without a prescription to women (or their partners) 18 and older, most likely by the end of the year. The pill will be dispensed only at pharmacies and purchasers must show ID to prove their age.

Plan B has been sold in the US via prescription sales since 1999. After a seven-year battle to make the pill available to women of any age without a prescription, this ruling seems to be a compromise Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. is willing to live with -- for now. Barr said it will continue to lobby for the pill to be available to minors. According to today's decision, minors must still obtain a doctor's prescription to get the pill, which doesn't end pregnancy but rather prevents it from happening. If a woman takes Plan B while already pregnant, it will have no effect. In other words, this is not an abortion pill.

Source