Plan B now available on Amazon.com

[LadyHawkAZ]

Via NARAL

http://www.bustle.com/articles/25219-plan-b-is-for-sale-on-amazoncom-victory-is-ours?utm_source=nar.al&utm_medium=urlshortener&utm_campaign=FB

Last year one of the most common brands of emergency contraception, Plan B, became available for over-the-counter purchase in American pharmacies after a decades-long battle to make the drug available without a prescription from a doctor.

Even after a federal judge ordered that Plan B should be available over-the-counter in pharmacies, many people still faced significant hurdles in purchasing the drug. Pharmacists were required to move the drug from behind the counter into the pharmacy aisles, but there were still plenty of reports of pharmacies that refused to stock Plan B, and of people under the age of 17 being unable to purchase the drug due to uninformed employees.

Now, buying Plan B is easier than ever, and it might be time to stock up on emergency contraceptives because you never know when you might need it. I can’t tell you how long this has been the case, but a simple online search reveals that a seller called Pharmacy Consultants is offering Plan B One Step on Amazon at a steep discount from the drug’s normal price. Typically, Plan B costs about $50 per dose, and can be as expensive as $65. Today, the listed Amazon price for Plan B One Step is $16.90, or a 42 percent discount from the regular price.

[gollygee]

1. Of course

you have to take it right away for it to work, so waiting for shipping is an issue. It might be best for women who might need it to get it ahead of time and have it on hand just in case.

[hlthe2b]

2. Overnight shipping might be sufficient. You have 72 hours

So, theoretically, it might be possible for some.

[LynneSin]

3. You have 72 hours but the sooner you talk it the more successful it will be

Plan B is not 100%.

If a person is worried about not getting pregnant and using condoms as their main source of birth control, I would strongly recommend keeping a box on hand just in case.

[hlthe2b]

6. I am well aware of that. But for someone in a rural RED area, it may well NOT be worthless

The reason that they say the morning after pill only works 72 hours after sex is because at 72 hours, it is only 71% effective. Technically you can still take it for up to 120 hours after sex (for it to have even the smallest chance of being effective), its just the more time that goes by after 72 hours, the less effective it really is.

71% chance of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy is certainly worthwhile to most of these women.

[LadyHawkAZ]

8. The lower price makes that doable

It's a lot more difficult to shell out $70 just to have it on hand "in case of".

[gollygee]

4. You have 72 hours before it's worthless

but it's much much more effective when taken right away. The longer you wait, the less effective it gets.

[hlthe2b]

5. Not worthless at 72 hours, just less effective and may well be a salvation for some women

The reason that they say the morning after pill only works 72 hours after sex is because at 72 hours, it is only 71% effective. Technically you can still take it for up to 120 hours after sex (for it to have even the smallest chance of being effective), its just the more time that goes by after 72 hours, the less effective it really is.

71% chance of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy is certainly worthwhile to most of these women.

[gollygee]

7. The way it was explained to me

when I needed it was that it keeps you from ovulating while live sperm are in you. You can ovulate at any point, and if you do and there are live sperm, you'll get pregnant. But the sperm cells die after three to five days, so if you ovulate after that point you won't get pregnant anyway.

So yeah there's potentially some value at 3 days but most of the value is keeping you from ovulating right away. If you ovulate the next day, you're pregnant regardless of whether you take Plan B two days after that. It doesn't make sense to say, "Oh well, it's at Amazon now so I won't worry - I'll just order it on Amazon if I need it."

[hlthe2b]

9. the first of your point..

is relevant to the statistic that only 22% or so of unprotected sex acts are likely to result in pregnancy (under "optimal" conditions with respect to both partners). The 72% success rate at 72 hours takes this into account.


While I agree, it would be better to have it on hand or obviously, to live in a less regressive area where pharmacists don't play politics with a woman's reproductive livelihood, the fact is that Amazon might well be the only way some women can get it. Ordering the morning after, with overnight delivery, would, theoretically allow a woman to receive it in time for it to be effective. I don't know why you would want to negate that fact, even if it is not the optimum solution to the problem. For a young girl in rural Alabama or Georgia, or Kansas or any other area where this OTC medication may not be made available to her, I am glad Amazon is offering it.

[gollygee]

10. I'm glad Amazon has it

but I don't think it solves the problem of lack of access and education about access elsewhere.

[hlthe2b]

11. As I stated as well, I absolutely agree this is not the real answer.... n/t