From The Boston Globe
By Darshak Sanghav

A few weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration finally approved over-the-counter sales of Plan B, the so-called morning after pill, in one of its most contentious decisions in decades. Every major medical authority, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the New England Journal of Medicine, had criticized the FDA’s prior stonewalling.

That ire was well deserved. But now that Plan B will hit shelves this winter, it’s worth assessing the likely impact on unplanned pregnancies. In fact, unless additional steps are taken, approval of over-the-counter Plan B sales may not reduce them at all.

One-third of American women have abortions by age 45. Though unprotected sex causes pregnancy less than 1 in 10 times, the cumulative risk is high. To avoid pregnancy, the average woman must prevent conception thousands of times during her life — and mistakes often happen.

That’s where Plan B comes in. It reduces the chance of pregnancy from 8 percent to 2 percent, if taken within days of unprotected sex. Planned Parenthood recently reported that over-the-counter access to Plan B could prevent 800,000 abortions per year.

But that figure unrealistically assumes that the drug will be used with perfect timing after every episode of unprotected sex.

Read more Plan B