On May 18, 2004 the federal Health Department revealed that it was preparing to make the Morning After Pill (MAP) available to Canadian women without a prescription. Currently three provinces in Canada, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec, allow pharmacists to give out the drug without a prescription. This change to Canadas drug regulations would then allow for any woman to walk into a pharmacy and purchase this "emergency contraception" without first consulting a doctor. This is a frightening thought. The fact that MAP is an abortifacient is denied by Health Canada. The background information on the Health Canada website has a question and answer section on the Morning After Pill. The question posed is, "Is levonorgestrel [the main hormone contained in the morning after pill] an abortion pill?" The answer given is no it is not. It will not work if the woman is already pregnant. However this statement is misleading. The Morning After Pill will either prevent ovulation or will not allow a fertilized egg to implant in the uterus. Life begins at fertilization and therefore MAP is an abortion pill. Health Canada needs to be corrected.
There are other numerous reasons why the Morning After Pill should not be made available to Canadian women without a prescription. Oral contraceptives have changed since they were first introduced in the early 1960's. A key change is that the level of hormones in the pills has been reduced due to the side effects that women were experiencing. However now with the Morning After Pill women will be using a combination of these hormones. In other words a woman would be taking a higher amount of hormones into her body. Dr. Will Johnston, president of Canadian Physicians for Life expressed in a recent news release that, "women are being encouraged to use these same pills, in multiple doses, as post-coital 'contraception,'" Dr. Johnston said. "The potential long-term impact of these high hormone doses, especially when used repeatedly, is worrisome and not being adequately addressed." It is well documented that higher increases in hormones in a womans body can lead to many health problems including cancer. If a woman does not go to see a doctor there is no way of establishing her increased risk of developing problems following MAP use. Another health risk that is rarely mentioned or glossed over is the increased risk of developing blot clots. Women who use levonorgestrel have a 35% increased risk of getting a potentially dangerous blood clot.
In 2001 Planned Parenthood Federation of America reported having 469,578 emergency contraception clients. This number increased to 633,756 in 2002, an increase of 35%. Having the pill readily available may encourage increased usage however the Rite Care Pharmacy (California) website states: "using the drug repeatedly can reduce its effectiveness Clients should be advised that the failure rate of Plan B (a brand name for the Morning After Pill) is calculated for a single use. If Plan B is used on more than one occasion, the cumulative failure rate will be higher." Unless a woman is aware of this, how is a pharmacist going to know how many times she has taken the Morning After Pill? Pharmacies in Ontario are not linked together so there is potential for a woman to go to a different pharmacy each time. Women will be self-medicating with a drug that could seriously harm their bodies in who knows what ways.
The whole point of making the Morning After Pill available without a prescription is that a woman is supposedly in an "emergency situation" and that this will reduce the amount of "unintended pregnancies". However, in the UK, where MAP has been available without a prescription for three years now, they continue have the highest rates for teenage pregnancies, despite having the second highest use of contraception. Back in March of 2004 a study showed that one in eight 16 year olds have used MAP and that one out of 100 had used in more than twice. More than twice means at least once per year since 2001 and thats just the minimum.
One risk of MAP use that is mentioned by those promoting it is that the drug does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Yet if MAP becomes available without a prescription in Canada, women will no longer need to listen to doctors talking to them about or getting tested for STDs. How many women will put their lives and others at risk by contracting an STD and having it go undetected because they were able to have "timely access" through a pharmacy to a high dose of contraception.
There is a bright spot in all of this. Health Canada is inviting concerned individuals or groups to respond to this proposed amendment. From now until about the middle of August responses can be sent to: Karen Ash, Policy Bureau, Policy Division, 1600 Scott Street, 2nd Floor, Holland Cross, Tower B, Address Locator: 3102C5, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9. All such responses should cite Canada Gazette Part I, the date of publication of the Project (May 22, 2004) and Project Number (1272).
The federal Health Department needs to know that they are not caring for women by allowing the Morning After Pill to be so readily available. Please respond and let the government know of your concerns for the health of Canadian women.