Morning-After Pill to be declared OTC!

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Finally the FDA does something right. (well, i'm pretty sure they've done lots of things right. just an expression of frustration, you know?) Great New York Times article on it. So far it's not certain, but it's likely to happen. I think expanded access to birth-control is great, but I think this raises a few ethical questions:



I think it should prevent a few more unwanted pregnancies and abortions BUT from an ethical standpoint, is the morning-after pill better than an abortion? In a sense, it is the same thing if you believe in protecting life from conception onward. So it's tough: terminate life early on or more closer to viability? Which one is more ethical?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    There is no difference if the cells have not formed sentience. It doesn't matter if it's at 12 hours or 20 weeks.
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  • Reply 2 of 43
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    Obviously this is an evil attempt by the Bush administration to insure that we all have more sex withou...



    Oh... sorry, just going with the tone of every other Bush/government thread on here.



    Nick
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  • Reply 3 of 43
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    I believe that in most cases this "Plan B" pill works prior to conception. I wonder if this is something Bush could influence. Would he pressure the FDA to prevent this from happening?
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  • Reply 4 of 43
    I think it is a childs death only when he becomes a sentient being. One or two cells are not self aware as a whole. Still there is that moral issue with potential, taking the potential sentient state that cells could form. Humm...
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  • Reply 5 of 43
    ibrowseibrowse Posts: 1,749member
    Either way I think this would be awesome.
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  • Reply 6 of 43
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Wow. Some pretty level-headed views here even among the more conservative members. I'm happy.



    Think about it: people are going to have sex. <--period. those same people, through safe-sex awareness programs, use a condom that unfortunately breaks. What can they do? Go to the local 24/hr supermarket and buy the MORNING AFTER PILL! woohoo! No unwanted pregnancy, no ruined lives, no problems.
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  • Reply 7 of 43
    abortion is always such a tough issue.



    Moving on, I've stated before that I think the laws from our government should only prevent killing sentient life that has the potential of intelligence, and that these boundaries should be determined by the latest scientific evidence.



    Of course, I'd consider myself a "normal" Christian, and I think the Church should maintain it's pro-life stance against abortion and continue to question the ethics of other security nets for casual sex. But I think that when a topic is beyond what we know as science it's up to one's beliefs to make conclusions, and I take all matters of abortion in this stride. . . Personally, I'm a pretty hard-core pro-lifer when asked for advice.



    I also think that marriage shouldn't be recognized by the state. . . but that's a whole 'nother can of worms to open.
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  • Reply 8 of 43
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    YEAH!



    Hey Powerdoc, what's it like in France concerning the morning after pill? I think I read once that high schools handed it out for free.
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  • Reply 9 of 43
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ShawnJ

    YEAH!



    Hey Powerdoc, what's it like in France concerning the morning after pill? I think I read once that high schools handed it out for free.




    Good question : i don't remember. I think that this pill is avalaible for free In "planning familial" an institution who deals with this sort of problems.
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  • Reply 10 of 43
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    There has to be a baseline for what is alive and what isn't. Using a heartbeat as a standard would seem logical, but doctors ARE allowed to unplug life support on people who lack cognition but still have a beating heart. So does the answer lie in the brain or the heart?



    And, gah, no trimester and eleventh hour abortion talk...



    Hmm, are birth control pills a good source of estrogens? Maybe the transsexual community will be happy.
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  • Reply 11 of 43
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Bad move.



    I dunno how they might work it in the states, but some classification between prescription and OTC might be helpful. You get a script from your doctor that covers a set period, and you can have all the pills you want after that (during that time).



    However, this is more of a personal complaint about drugs are distributed, than anything to do with sex-contraception-abortion. Frankly, more OTC drugs should be subject to doctor/pharmacist control, and the drug store come variety store should disappear. But that's something to take up with the drug companies.
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  • Reply 12 of 43
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    how much do these things cost?



    I fear that these WILL become the protection as pregnancy seems to be much higher in the list of fears these days.





    For what its worth, I believe the health center at Cal already provides the pills free upon request.
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  • Reply 13 of 43
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Bad move IMO because many desparate women are going to abuse the drug, perhaps trying to abort a pregnancy well after "the morning after". A month after or 6 weeks after for example. Imagine some ill-informed woman not getting the expected result and taking more and more pills to get it.



    If you want to sell them for cheap (or give them away) via Plannned Parenthood and emergency rooms, fine, but there's no way something like this should be OTC, even aside from other implications.



    As far as abortion, in my mind, there is no child until there is at least the form of a child (which I forget exactly, but I think happens 3 or 4 weeks into a pregnancy). A mated sperm and egg is not -- in any manner IMO -- a child. From a legal standpoint, it has to be seen as a clump of cells, until such time as it takes basic human form. However, once it does take human form, I am generally against all abortion that isn't done as a result of rape or sparing the mother's life. More to the point, I am bigtime pro-adoption. Bigtime.



    No woman should have to choose her her child's life vs. her own, and no woman should be expected to carry a child to term that is the result of a heinous crime like rape. Of course there are shades of grey there too but anyway, I think making this drug OTC is a bad idea because no one with any medical training or pregnancy training has to be consulted to get it.
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  • Reply 14 of 43
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    A mated sperm and egg is not -- in any manner IMO -- a child.



    But is it a life?
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  • Reply 15 of 43
    all i'd really worry about is a shift towards less responsible behavior.



    much like the pill, the idea that you won't get pregnent is nice and all, but that doesn't do much to stop an STD.



    now, if they had a pill for the next day that will kill off any STD's you might have picked up. damn. that'd be worth some money.



    the problem being that the only people that need this are either the few who are responsible, plan ahead and for whatever reason they worry the birth control failed.



    the other group being the ones who are horney as hell, decide $$$$ it, i'll just take a pill tomorrow, and have sex anyway. those folks are going to be picking up a few bugs i'm willing to bet.
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  • Reply 16 of 43
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by applenut

    But is it a life?



    It's a human cell, and it's a living thing. But it's not a life. A life imply the possibility to live by it's own way, i mean in an independant manner.

    When you $$$$ you dont spread life wastely, the spermatozoid will die anyway weather they are in a ... or in your testicles ...
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  • Reply 17 of 43
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Powerdoc

    It's a human cell, and it's a living thing. But it's not a life. A life imply the possibility to live by it's own way, i mean in an independant manner.

    When you $$$$ you dont spread life wastely, the spermatozoid will die anyway weather they are in a ... or in your testicles ...




    that's a pretty stupid definition.



    i suppose once a baby is born then it is a life and independant?



    yet, if you put it on its own it would die in a couple days.
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  • Reply 18 of 43
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    Bad move IMO because many desparate women are going to abuse the drug, perhaps trying to abort a pregnancy well after "the morning after". A month after or 6 weeks after for example. Imagine some ill-informed woman not getting the expected result and taking more and more pills to get it.



    If you want to sell them for cheap (or give them away) via Plannned Parenthood and emergency rooms, fine, but there's no way something like this should be OTC, even aside from other implications.



    As far as abortion, in my mind, there is no child until there is at least the form of a child (which I forget exactly, but I think happens 3 or 4 weeks into a pregnancy). A mated sperm and egg is not -- in any manner IMO -- a child. From a legal standpoint, it has to be seen as a clump of cells, until such time as it takes basic human form. However, once it does take human form, I am generally against all abortion that isn't done as a result of rape or sparing the mother's life. More to the point, I am bigtime pro-adoption. Bigtime.



    No woman should have to choose her her child's life vs. her own, and no woman should be expected to carry a child to term that is the result of a heinous crime like rape. Of course there are shades of grey there too but anyway, I think making this drug OTC is a bad idea because no one with any medical training or pregnancy training has to be consulted to get it.




    Thus are some really well thought out considerations with regard to making this over the counter. If we assume people don't think with regard to sex or with regard to using condoms property (or the condoms fail)or the pill, what makes us think that this would only be used in the prescribed manner?



    I'm not saying make it a huge hoop jumping problem, but what are the issues with taking RU-486 well past the day after?



    Nick
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  • Reply 19 of 43
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by applenut

    that's a pretty stupid definition.



    i suppose once a baby is born then it is a life and independant?



    yet, if you put it on its own it would die in a couple days.




    So, if we take that thinking the other way and put it back on sperm, will I be a murderer/sinner/whatever if I don't put all my sperm in a jar try to keep it alive?
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  • Reply 20 of 43
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Every sperm is sacred.

    Every sperm is great.

    If a sperm is wasted,

    God gets quite irate.



    Let the heathen spill theirs

    On the dusty ground.

    God shall make them pay for

    Each sperm that can't be found.



    Every sperm is wanted.

    Every sperm is good.

    Every sperm is needed

    In your neighbourhood.



    Hindu, Taoist, Mormon,

    Spill theirs just anywhere,

    But God loves those who treat their

    Semen with more care
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