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Pharmacists to Distribute “Morning After” Pills

Pharmacists in Washington State can now attend a three-hour training session that will enable them to write prescriptions for the “morning after” birth control pills. Last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of higher doses of birth control pills containing estrogen and proestrogen for use as “morning after” pills. The pill combinations are taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex and work by preventing the egg and sperm from meeting or by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus.

Dianne White, co-owner of a pharmacy in Spokane, said “I feel there’s a real need for this since there are 56,000 unplanned pregnancies here every year …. We’re trained to educate patients even though we’re often looked at as counting and pouring. That’s not just it.”

White is one of three pharmacy owners in Spokane to have received the training needed to dispense the pills. Visit http://opr.princeton.edu/ec/ to get a list of pharmacies providing “morning after” pills.

Sources:

Spokane Spokesman-Review - February 26, 1998

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