Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Semantics

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will meet June 17 to consider whether the agency should approve a new emergency contraceptive that studies show is more effective than Plan B, the only "morning-after pill" on the U.S. market.

HRA Pharma of Paris launched ulipristal acetate in October 2009 and sells it in 21 European countries under the brand name ellaOne. As in Europe, ulipristal would be available only by prescription in the USA. Plan B, the brand name for levonorgestrel, is available without a prescription to women 17 and older, but those under 17 require a prescription.

Plan B is approved for use up to 72 hours after unprotected sex; even within that window, though, it becomes less effective over time. But two company-funded trials involving more than 3,000 women, published in February, found that ulipristal was consistently effective up to 120 hours, or five days, after unprotected sex.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-08-contraceptive08_ST_N.htm

A pill that terminates pregnancy up to five days after conception is not a contraceptive, but an abortion pill.

I support abortion rights. I don't support imprecise language designed to confuse and obfuscate.

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