Plan B: over, but still behind, the counter
Toni Merriss
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Features
In 2006 the FDA legalized Plan B, an emergency contraception, for over the counter sales to women age 18 and over. Plan B is also sometimes called "the morning after pill" and can be used up to five days after sex.
There have been many rumors about what exactly Plan B is, what it does and even some of the side effects that can come from taking it.
By far the most frequent false impression given by this emergency contraceptive is the fact that it should not be mistaken as a regular form of birth control. Emergency is used in the description for a reason and this medicine should only be taken if the primary form of birth control failed or in cases of an emergency. (For example: a condom broke, missed birth control pills, or victims of rape.)
"I think making Plan B more available is a good idea. You know, we're in college and people sometimes do stupid things. As long as it is used in case of an emergency, I think it will help more people than it would hurt," said drama major Beth Stanford.
Another common misconception about Plan B is that it is 100 percent effective but in reality it only reduces the risk of pregnancy by up to 95 percent. Most birth control pills reduce your risk by up to 98 percent. As most of you heard in your high school sex education class, the only 100 percent way to not get pregnant is abstinence.
Sorry folks, that still hasn't changed, no matter how long you have been out of high school.
Although there are different types of emergency contraceptive pills accessible in other countries, Plan B is the only one available in the United States. Plan B contains .75 mg of a hormone called progestin (a synthetic progestogen) levonorgestrel (derived from testosterone). Levonorgestrel is a single active steroid and is also the active ingredient in the contraceptive implant, Norplant.
Studies have shown that Plan B can prevent or delay ovulation, when it is taken before the egg and sperm meet. Imagine Plan B playing interference for the two, kind of like when you were out on the town and your drunken friends were pulling you out the door just as you met eyes with a cutie across the room. In this story, your friends are playing the role of Plan B (or interference), so out the door you go. Get it?
There have been many rumors about what exactly Plan B is, what it does and even some of the side effects that can come from taking it.
By far the most frequent false impression given by this emergency contraceptive is the fact that it should not be mistaken as a regular form of birth control. Emergency is used in the description for a reason and this medicine should only be taken if the primary form of birth control failed or in cases of an emergency. (For example: a condom broke, missed birth control pills, or victims of rape.)
"I think making Plan B more available is a good idea. You know, we're in college and people sometimes do stupid things. As long as it is used in case of an emergency, I think it will help more people than it would hurt," said drama major Beth Stanford.
Another common misconception about Plan B is that it is 100 percent effective but in reality it only reduces the risk of pregnancy by up to 95 percent. Most birth control pills reduce your risk by up to 98 percent. As most of you heard in your high school sex education class, the only 100 percent way to not get pregnant is abstinence.
Sorry folks, that still hasn't changed, no matter how long you have been out of high school.
Although there are different types of emergency contraceptive pills accessible in other countries, Plan B is the only one available in the United States. Plan B contains .75 mg of a hormone called progestin (a synthetic progestogen) levonorgestrel (derived from testosterone). Levonorgestrel is a single active steroid and is also the active ingredient in the contraceptive implant, Norplant.
Studies have shown that Plan B can prevent or delay ovulation, when it is taken before the egg and sperm meet. Imagine Plan B playing interference for the two, kind of like when you were out on the town and your drunken friends were pulling you out the door just as you met eyes with a cutie across the room. In this story, your friends are playing the role of Plan B (or interference), so out the door you go. Get it?
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