PORTLAND, Maine — The FDA approved the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step to be sold over the counter in 2013. While some embraced it as a step forward for women’s rights, others criticized the decision. Two years later, you can get walk into any pharmacy, no matter how old you are, and get the emergency contraceptive from a pharmacist. You also can buy it online through retail giant Amazon.
Nicole Clegg from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England was careful to point out that emergency contraceptive has been designed to respond to an event where there is a contraceptive failure or you had unprotected sex. She said it is not intended to be used as a form of birth control.
The so-called “morning after pill” needs to be taken within 72 hours in order to be effective. Buying it online through Amazon might take a few days to a week to ship and arrive, which would make the pill less effective over time.
Clegg said women would be more likely to buy it online to have on hand, in case there is an issue, instead of buying it at a pharmacy to be used immediately. But with anything purchased online, there is concern about what you’re buying. When it comes to your health, it is especially important to make sure you are getting what you are ordering.
“We have heard of instances where people have purchased it online and have not received the product they thought they were buying,” Clegg said.
In some instances, the packaging was open, the pill was broken or it was the wrong product altogether. The problem is that multiple vendors sell Plan B. Unless you know where they are getting it from, there’s a chance you might not get what you paid for. For the most part, prices are similar to local pharmacies. The question remains: Why would a woman buy the product online and put her health at risk?
Erin Koepf, a clinical assistant professor from the University of New England College of Pharmacy, said there remain several barriers to accessing Plan B or other emergency contraceptives. In some rural locations, it might not be in stock. Other times, women may find it embarrassing to ask for it.
While you can buy it online, Koepf said the problem with Amazon is that anyone can sell it. Therefore, you don’t necessarily know where they’re getting the supply from.
We contacted several sellers about the pill. The only one who replied said the Plan B came from the close-out of a pharmacy.
Koepf found one legitimate source on Amazon. The emergency contraceptive After Pill, which is an alternative to Plan B, is sold online directly from the manufacturer.
“They are available through Amazon and one of the suppliers. So if you are going to go on Amazon to buy this, that that would be the one I’d recommend. Because if you go to their website directly, they do have FDA approval for this,” Koepf said.
Amazon declined to comment on the story.