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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (2803)	1/24/2001 4:37:04 PM
From: YlangYlangBreeze	Respond to of 82486

Well, yes, as a matter of fact I would if I weren't sure that any fair safety review will not result in a change in policy. The key word being fair. Uh oh. Now you have me scared. Who's doing the review? Britain Allows Over-the-Counter Sales of Morning-After Pill By SARAH LYALL ONDON, Jan. 14 — Seeking to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in Britain, the government has begun allowing pharmacies to dispense the morning-after contraceptive pill without prescription to women who are 16 or older. The morning-after pill, a form of emergency oral contraception that women take after having unprotected sex, has long been available by prescription in Britain, both privately and under the National Health Service. Under the new rules, women can buy the drug — which is actually two pills taken 12 hours apart — for about $30 over the counter. The new policy was announced quietly by the government in December, and because of nimble legislative positioning, it took effect without debate in Parliament. But it invariably provoked after-the-fact fury from the Conservative opposition and various right-wing groups, who argued that increased access to the morning-after pill would encourage sexual carelessness and promiscuity and increase the risk of sexually transmitted disease. Last month, Dr. Liam Fox, the health spokesman for the Conservative Party, said that he was appalled by the government's move. "Making the morning-after pill available to all girls over 16 in this way sends the wrong message about the need for responsible sexual activity," he said. "It can only increase the risk of worsening the current epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and could result in repeated and unsupervised exposure of young girls to this powerful drug." In the last decade, Britain has experienced a steady increase in the number of teenage pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. In 1998, the last year for which figures are available, 22 percent of pregnancies ended in abortion. In addition, in a country struggling to promote a family-based agenda, 37.8 percent of new babies were born to unwed mothers. Britain regularly posts the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe. In women under age 20 in 1998, not counting pregnancies that ended in spontaneous miscarriage, there were 101,000 conceptions, resulting in 63,000 births and 38,000 abortions. Part of the problem, said Alice Richardson, the coordinator of Education for Choice, a nonprofit group that favors abortion rights, is that sex education in British schools is piecemeal, non-comprehensive, and often dependant on the extracurricular dedication of teachers. Access to contraception and abortion on the National Health Service varies widely by region, she said. Abortion is legal in Britain until a woman is 24 weeks pregnant, although some health authorities are unwilling to provide abortions for women in such an advanced state of pregnancy. The abortion pill, RU-486, which is used to trigger a miscarriage in pregnant women, is also available both privately and through the National Health Service, though not in all parts of the country. Although many groups here oppose abortion on religious and other grounds, abortion is not a make-or- break issue in British politics and does not give rise to the sort of volatile emotions that surround the subject in the United States. The morning-after pill releases two strong doses of progestogen and can prevent pregnancy in several ways. It can prevent or delay ovulation, the process by which the egg is released from the ovary. If it is taken after ovulation has occurred, it can prevent the egg from being fertilized by the sperm. And it can interfere with the implantation of the egg in the uterus. Continued nytimes.com