Top 10 Civil Liberties News Stories of the Week - August 4, 2006 Edition

After years of FDA stalling, Plan B may finally become available without a prescription. Plan B (levonorgestrel) is a highly-concentrated birth control hormone that nearly always prevents pregnancy if taken within the first 3-5 days after sexual intercourse. It is not an abortion pill, and cannot terminate a pregnancy; it prevents actual fertilization of the egg and implantation of the egg in the uterus, both of which take place before pregnacy begins and before new DNA is formed.

The new regulations, if approved, would allow those 18 and up to buy Plan B behind the counter without a prescription--but they would have to ask their pharmacist for it by name, and pharmacists are prohibited from dispensing the drug to minors.

Anti-abortion activists have consistently blocked Plan B, and information about Plan B, under the principle that reducing the risk of unintended pregnancies encourages premarital sex. So far, this strategy has been remarkably successful; a recent study found that only 8% of women know what Plan B is for and can distinguish it from RU-486, the abortion pill. Because of this, most women who end up with unintended pregnancies that they don't want to carry to term are aware of only one option: abortion. Nice going, fellas.