Morning-After Pills Available Online
March 6 -- At a time when it's easy to obtain anything just by logging on, the newest rush to the Web is for the "morning-after pill."
The emergency birth control pill is currently available through two Planned Parenthood branches and at least one for-profit site.
Advocates for the practice of making the pill available online say it helps speed up the process for patients who need to take it within 72 hours of sexual intercourse for the pill to be effective. But detractors argue that obtaining any prescription drug on the Web is not good medical practice.
For $40 to $75, a user can fill out an application online, which a nurse practitioner or physician then reviews. They will then write a prescription and either electronically mail it to you or to a pharmacy. The prescription can be available within minutes. As of now, it is available online through the Illinois and Georgia Planned Parenthood branches and a few commercial medical sites like VirtualMedicalGroup.com.
"It comes in handy for when we have a real blip in our ability to service over the weekend and holidays when we aren't open," said Vasyl Markus, vice president for public policy for Planned Parenthood in Chicago. "These are the times when the need for this pill is really strong, after weekends, holidays, long weekends."
Pill in Every Medical Cabinet
Both Planned Parenthood branches have nurse practitioners and physicians on call during weekends to take the online applications and process them for the emergency contraception pill. (The hormone pills are commonly known as the "morning-after pill," but are known to physicians as Plan B and Preven.
The morning-after pill prevents ovulation or, if it has already occurred, blocksimplantation of a fertilized egg. A report by the American Medical Association's Council onMedical Service suggests that women might not be able to get thepills in time to prevent a pregnancy unless they're made availableover-the-counter.
The application and consent form asks for the patient's medical history including name, age, address and recent sexual history. Since the treatment is only effective if taken 72 hours after sexual intercourse, the pill's availability on the Web is a major plus for women, advocates say.
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