Concern keeps Plan B out of local pharmacies
While the emergency contraception prescription drug
Plan B became available for over-the-counter purchase
in the United States last month, not all pharmacies
are carrying it.
An informal survey of independent pharmacies in Southeast
Texas found Thursday that while several establishments
will fill prescriptions for the drug, they aren't
carrying it as an over-the-counter item.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Plan
B -- which contains a high dose of a drug found in
many regular birth control pills -- for sale to customers
18 and older without a prescription in August. Manufacturer
Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. began distribution of the
over-the-counter form in November.
Doug McMakin, pharmacist at McMakin Pharmacy in Beaumont,
has ordered the drug's prescription form. But he's
not going to stock the over-the-counter version yet.
"I think it needs to be (prescribed) under the
supervision of a doctor," said McMakin, citing
concerns about possible side effects as well as a
worry that the drug could lead to more teenagers having
sex.
McMakin added, however, that he plans to consult
local obstetrics and gynecology doctors about the
drug's safety and could stock the over-the-counter
version in the future.
Vincent Luparello, pharmacist and owner of the Corner
Pharmacy, has no plans to stock the drug now because
his customers haven't expressed a need or interest.
"I don't have anybody asking for it," Luparello
said. "If I get people that start asking for
it, I'll carry it."
The Right to Life of Southeast Texas would prefer
pharmacists do not carry the drug, said Victor Soares,
the organization's president. The drug can be harmful
to a woman who takes it, he said, and could be used
as a tool by sexual predators to prevent pregnancy
and hide their activities.
"We don't support Plan B contraception at all,"
Soares said.
At the University of Texas Medical Branch-Regional
Maternal Child Health Program in Beaumont, the prescription
drug has been available for several years, ever since
it first became available, said Weldene Baertl, UTMB
regional director and a certified nurse-midwife. The
prescription drug was approved by the FDA in 1999,
according to the agency's Web site.
Since the clinic's pharmacy is not a retail pharmacy,
the clinic cannot dispense the over-the-counter version
of Plan B, Baertl said. But it can provide the prescription
form to patients.
"People can't just come in and buy it,"
Baertl said. "But we certainly want people to
know that it's available."
At Lovoi and Sons Pharmacies Inc. in Beaumont, pharmacist
J.J. Lovoi said the family business hasn't made a
decision yet about carrying the over-the-counter form
of Plan B. The pharmacy has, however, a practice of
filling doctor's prescriptions for the drug.
"If it's prescribed by the doctor, we would
deem it's medically necessary," Lovoi said.
