them out on this episode of InsidersHealth News.

A study by Dr. Tracy Wilkenson of The Boston Medical Center at Boston University school

of medicine has shown exactly what he feared: that the real world availability of Plan B

and other emergency contraception drugs is not holding up like it should. In fact, in

turns out that almost 20% of 17 year olds were told by pharmacies that they couldn’t

get the medication at all. This study, performed in 5 major U.S. cities, gathered data by calling

pharmacies to inquire about Plan B, first as a 17 year old woman and then as her doctor.

The disparity between the answers they got was staggering. For those 20% of women that

were told it was unavailable, only 3% of the doctors were given the same information. Even

worse, the teen caller would then ask if there was an age rule and the pharmacy employees

answered incorrectly 43% of the time. While it is a controversial topic, the law is on

the side of those young women. Seventeen and older can purchase the product without a prescription.

The biggest concern is that such a young age hearing “no” from anyone will act as a

permanent deterrent. The likelihood of a 17 year old teen canvassing pharmacies across

the area for Plan B is extremely low, so accurate and helpful information is a must. And regardless

of the issues that contraception deals with, pharmacists need to be up to speed with the

correct information. Also, proponents of the over-the-counter morning-after pill say that

using this emergency contraception could prevent HALF of all unplanned teen pregnancies in

the U.S., a large number considering the nearly 750,000 girls ages 15-19 that become pregnant.

And of those hundreds of thousands of pregnancies about 85% are unplanned. Wilkenson hopes that

this study will instigate some sort of change across the board and bring in new policies

because as long as the law allows an over-the-counter choice for these young women, the pharmacies

should create a helpful and trusting environment. But you know us! We want to hear what you

think about the issue. Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? I welcome you to comment below.

I know I always tell you to think “outside the box” but the comment box doesn’t count.