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Monday, August 27, 2007

planB?? Whatever happened to planA?

The Curt Jester put up a great post about EC (Emergency Contraception), the morning after pill, plan B or whatever other name its being pushed under. It got me to thinking though, people will repeatedly state that the morning after pill will not have an effect if the woman is already pregnant, its not a big deal. Isn't the morning after pill just a high-dose version of the pill? Why, yes, it is just that. Funny, if you are pregnant or could be pregnant then you aren't supposed to take the pill, it all of the sudden has unnamed health risks and potential side effects.

In the pill's insert it states that you shouldn't take the pill if you are pregnant on page 5 when talking about side effects:

You should not take the pill if you suspect you are pregnant or have unexplained vaginal bleeding.


Oh, and it states it again on page 6 under the section, WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES.


So, I saunter over to the Plan B website and what do I find in their package insert but the following:

CONTRAINDICATIONS
Progestin-only contraceptive pills (POPs) are used as a routine method of birth control over longer periods of time, and are contraindicated in some conditions. It is not known whether these same conditions apply to the Plan B® regimen consisting of the emergency use of two progestin pills. POPs however, are not recommended for use in the following conditions:
Known or suspected pregnancy
• Hypersensitivity to any component of the product

I did add a little emphasis here but what I am getting at is something that is scary, if its ok to take this if you are pregnant, then why do both of these inserts nott want pregnant women to take this medication????? I thought it would have no effect on an existing pregnancy??:
If you take Plan B® and are already pregnant, it will not affect your
existing pregnancy.

Now, I am trying to figure it out if their is something bad that could happen to the mother or child and I have found lots of conflicting data on that. Some things say that nothing bad will happen to a baby in utero that has a mother taking the pill and others say that their is minimal data or no significant effects, this seems to be a place that has some very shady or selective language used.


Oh, and it appears that having Plan B out their and available doesn't really do a whole lot of anything to pregnancy and abortion rates, odd.

Under the Mercy,
Matthew S

P.S. A is for Abstinence.

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