Bravo, Vermont, where the mountains are green, the maple syrup is Grade A, and women of all ages will be able to purchase Plan B over the counter, despite the Food and Drug Administration's decision last week that minors will require a prescription.
On Thursday, the FDA -- finally, finally! -- made Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill, available to women who prove they are 18 or older without a prescription. But the president of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Nancy Mosher, explained that Vermont passed legislation earlier this year allowing women of all ages to get the drug without a prescription, by going through pharmacists who have received special training and are allowed to dispense the pills to customers who fill out a health-screening questionnaire. The legislation hasn't been implemented yet because guidelines governing how it will work have not been written.
But the FDA ruling means that because the Vermont law is now happily a moot point for women 18 and older, it will only apply to minors, who will still be able to make their nonprescription emergency contraception purchases thanks to the new legislation.
Mosher also backed up the sound advice we've been hearing all over the place, recommending that women keep a Plan B pill or two in their medicine cabinet in case of emergency.
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