I refer to this.

Jason, whom I've never met but have read for a long time, asks why, if Plan B is now available without prescription, regular oral contraceptives aren't.  Now, I may not know everything about this, but having been on them for years, I know a good bit.

Plan B is a decent-sized dose of hormones in a very short period of time.  Oral contraceptives, however, are generally small doses taken over long periods of time.  Years.  And since you are changing your own hormonal balance when you take them, side effects can get nasty, and it's a bad idea to take them without seeing a doctor yearly - to make sure your liver is functioning correctly, your blood pressure hasn't gone through the roof, and other things.  Abnormal Paps aren't, AFAIK, a consequence of the hormones, but they can certainly be a consequence of sex without condoms, which often follows one's being put on oral contraceptives, and those need to be watched carefully if they occur.  So I can understand why OC's are prescription-based - you really don't want to be on them without a doctor's supervision.  But the one-time dose shouldn't cause you trouble beyond cramping and nausea, which are well worth it in this case.  It gets out of your system pretty fast.

I'm not a doctor, of course.  But I do a lot of research to make sure I know as much as possible about what's going on in my body.

I can't really let a couple of news items go by without mentioning them.

First of all, Pluto is no longer a planet.  This is disturbing to me - I'm sure it's like people used to think of "New Math" - kids who are starting school now are going to grow up with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and...NOTHING.  Heh.  But seriously, there will be a disconnect there between generations.  G'night, John-boy.  I mean, Pluto.

But this is the big one: the FDA will now allow women over 18 to purchase Plan B without a prescription.  That is huge, exciting, and basically astonishing considering the current climate regarding all things uterus in the States.  Plan B is not abortion, it is contraception, and while other hormonal contraceptives do require prescription (for some good reasons and some stupid ones), the entire point of Plan B (taking it as soon as it is needed) is defeated by needing a prescription.  This is a huge victory in reproductive rights.  Wahoo!  Let's see how long it lasts.