No Note Necessary

The morning-after pill hit New York shelves last week, available for the first time without a doctor’s note. After a heated debate, the FDA decided in August to allow women over the age of 18 to buy the contraceptives, known as Plan B, without a prescription. The drug, a synthetic hormone that stops the release of an egg from the ovary, prevents pregnancy in most cases if taken within 72 hours of sex. Some opponents have warned that the availability of the drug will spur sexual promiscuity; others complain that the drug is being marketed like candy. “Women are being led to believe that this is a simple procedure, that they just take the pill and bingo — they’re not pregnant,” said Barbara Meara of the New York State Right To Life Committee. Jim Schiffer of the New York City Pharmacists Society dismissed the charge. “They’re all trying to say it’s an abortion. It’s not an abortion,” he said. Pharmacists expect sales to be brisk.—Mike McPhate