OAN Annyatama Bhowmik
UPDATED 6:15 PM PT – Friday, December 23, 2022
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has modified the label for the emergency contraception known as Plan B One-Step.
The main reason behind this is to clarify the fact that an already-existing pregnancy is not affected by the pill.
On Friday, the federal agency declared that it will take down statements on the contraceptive pill’s package that assert that the pill stops a fertilized egg from developing into an embryo. It is almost after two decades the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-step will get a new label.
Plan B One-step is a backup method for birth control. It will be labeled as morning-after pill.
The pill is used to reduce the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex. It is not meant for regular use. It is an over-the-counter (OTC) medication that is available without a prescription.
FDA made a statement about the pill.
“Evidence does not support that the drug affects implantation or maintenance of a pregnancy after implantation, therefore it does not terminate a pregnancy,” the FDA stated.
Lawmakers in some Conservative states have floated the idea of limiting access to the medicine or outright banning it while some pharmacists have refused to offer it citing religious objections related to abortion.
The FDA updated online that “Plan B One-Step will not work if a person is already pregnant, meaning it will not affect an existing pregnancy,” They added. “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 a pregnancy after implantation, therefore it does not terminate a pregnancy.”
A professor from George Washington University clarified that FDA did not have to make any decision on this any sooner because it was absolutely not necessary from a medical point-of-view.
However, the demand for emergency contraceptives has been seen rapidly increasing earlier this year. The surge has observed following the Supreme Court’s rule at Roe v. Wade over the federal constitutional right to have an abortion .