A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend approval of a new emergency contraception pill that is effective for a longer period of time than the "morning after" pill known as Plan B. The new drug, ulipristal acetate or UPA, is marketed under the brand name ellaOne and would be available only by prescription; it would be effective if taken up to five days after unprotected intercourse. Although the FDA does not always follow the recommendations of its advisory panels, it typically does.
The drug works by inhibiting ovulation, explained Dr. Paul Fine, medical director of Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Texas & Louisiana and a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "It is not an abortion pill," said Fine. "The reason for this is that if ovulation has already occurred and fertilization has occurred, then the pregnancy is going to happen. That is also true with Plan B."
But anti-abortion advocates disagree. According to Dr. Joe DeCook, a spokesman for the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), at the doses recommended, ulipristal will not suppress ovulation but will, rather, "block the lining of the uterus from receiving progesterone, which makes it dysfunctional. It will not then support life." HHS
"The difference between preventing life and destroying life is hugely significant to many women," said Jeanne Monahan, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity. "Women deserve to know that difference." WaPo
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