The Morning After Pill and Canadian Pharmacies
June 17, 2008

The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities have accepted a recommendation to change the way that ‘Plan B’, an emergency contraception pill is sold here in Canada. The recommendation would find the drug on store shelves instead of behind the counter, where someone would need to speak to a Pharmacist before buying it. The drug company that distributes the pill feels that more women would use it if they could avoid the embarrassment of having to speak to someone about their personal sex lives.

Plan B has a high dose of hormones that need to be taken 72 hours after unprotected sex so that pregnancy is prevented. It does not terminate an existing pregnancy and is therefore not recognized as contraception or abortion but ‘interception’.

Here are some of the facts we need on this medication:

One dose has almost as many hormones as two months worth of the daily dose contraception women normally use as birth control.

Symptoms of its use include: nausea, lower back pain, severe abdominal cramping, spotting and excessive bleeding in subsequent periods. Severe symptoms include the possibility of ectopic pregnancy, stroke in certain migraine sufferers and blurred vision.

Women who talk to a pharmacist before taking this pill will have an idea of what kind of symptoms they should expect, and what symptoms would require a trip to the emergency room. If we remove this vital step, will women be taking unnecessary chances with their health? For this reason, the Canadian Association of Pharmacists does not support the changes being proposed.

The recommendation of NAPRA needs to be accepted by the provinces and territories before it can come into effect, so call your provincial MLA or MPP and communicate your concern about ‘Plan B’.