Approval Of Nonprescription Plan B Sales To Women Over Age 18 "Not Enough" To Reduce Need For Abortion, Opinion Piece Says

FDA's decision to approve Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B to women ages 18 and older is "welcome news," but it will not be "enough to overcome our nation's stalled progress in reducing unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion," Sharon Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece. According to Camp, the latest national statistics on abortion -- which show that "a decades-long decline in the U.S. abortion rate is stalling out" -- should "make no one happy." However, there are some "easy ways to get things back on track," such as using state Medicaid waivers to expand eligibility for family planning coverage to more low-income women; allocating sufficient funding to Title X, the federal family planning program; creating better public education programs for teenagers and adults that provide medically accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of contraceptives and stress personal responsibility; and looking for "ways to make effective contraceptive use easier and less expensive" for women, according to Camp. "We know how to make abortion rates start going down again," Camp writes, concluding, "Let's stop wasting time and get on with the job" (Camp, Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/26).

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