New revised leaflets now clearly state that Plan B and its kin work ‘before release of an egg from the ovary’<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Physician\u2019s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, Dec. 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) — On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised the language on “morning after” pills’ packaging to make it clear that the pills are not abortion drugs.<\/p>\n
For many years, Plan B One-Step and its generic equivalents — collectively known as “morning after” pills to prevent a pregnancy — included information in packaging that suggested that the pill might work by interrupting the implantation of a fertilized egg into the womb.<\/p>\n
There was, however, no scientific evidence that was the case, experts have long contended. With the guidance in place, some anti-abortion activists made the erroneous claim that women who took the “morning after” pill were triggering an abortion.<\/p>\n
Plan B was first approved in 1999 and can be obtained without a prescription. However, on Friday, the FDA removed language on implantation from the pills’ packaging and instead added language that explicitly states that the pills are not abortion drugs, The New York Times<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n New revised leaflets now clearly state that Plan B and its kin work “before release of an egg from the ovary,” The Times<\/em> reported. It goes on to say that the pill “will not work if you’re already pregnant, and will not affect an existing pregnancy.” And in a question-and-answer segment now posted<\/a> on the FDA website, the question “Is Plan B One-Step able to cause an abortion?” is answered by “No,” followed by “Plan B One-Step prevents pregnancy by acting on ovulation, which occurs well before implantation. Evidence does not support that the drug affects implantation or maintenance of pregnancy after implantation; therefore, it does not terminate a pregnancy.”<\/p>\n The FDA said its decision to change package labeling was not spurred by political considerations but was instead triggered by a review of a 2018 application from Foundation Consumer Healthcare, a company that bought the Plan B brand from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in 2017. The pandemic delayed the ability of the FDA to process the application until now, it said.<\/p>\n Speaking in a company statement, Foundation Consumer Healthcare Marketing Director Tara Evans said “the misconception that Plan B works by interfering with implantation can present barriers to broader emergency contraception access. The Plan B labeling correction will help protect continued over-the-counter emergency contraception access and reduce confusion about how Plan B works and further clarify that Plan B does not affect implantation.”<\/p>\n