MORNING-AFTER PILL: DEBATE OVER AVAILABILITY

The morning-after pill is in the news again. This time it's a debate within the American Medical Association concerning whether the pill should be made available for over-the-counter purchase.

Here is how an Associated Press story phrased it:

"While the Vatican recently condemned the emergency contraceptive and the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, decided last year not to sell it, the AMA's Council on Medical Service is recommending that it be made easier to obtain."

This drug mustn't be confused with the abortifacent drug known as RU-486, which is another matter entirely. Taken within three days of intercourse, the morning-after contraceptive is essentially high-dose birth-control pills that prevent ovulation or, if that has already occurred, block implantation of the fertilized egg. In most cases, the pills are available only by prescription.

Given the fact that nearly all birth-control pills are a matter of getting a doctor's prescription, the question obviously arises as to why this should be available over-the-counter in the manner of something as innocuous as aspirin. The AMA says some women might not be able to get the pills in time to prevent a pregnancy, so the AMA is recommending that the Food and Drug Administration consider making emergency contraception pills available over the counter.

Though morning-after pills aren't as widely opposed as the RU-486 prescription abortion pill approved by the FDA in September, foes consider them a form of abortion since an egg could have been fertilized by the time a woman takes them. We hope the FDA goes slow on any such recommendation, whether it comes from the AMA or any other quarter.