Contraception Bill Praised as Boon to Women, Condemned as Immoral
By Cyndi Roy for the State House News Service
       Pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates faced off at a Beacon Hill hearing Wednesday where they debated legislation that would allow all women to receive emergency contraception without a doctor's prescription.
       The proposals (H 1643 & S 1319) would also require all hospitals to make available to victims of sexual assault the so-called morning-after pill.  Proponents say the bill provides easier access to the pill for women who fear they could be pregnant after unprotected sex or rape. It will also reduce some of the roughly 26,000 unintended pregnancies and subsequent abortions performed across the country each year, they argue.
       Before a standing room-only crowd comprised mostly of supporters, lead House sponsor Rep. Douglas Petersen (D-Marblehead) told members of the Public Health Committee, “We have the opportunity to do something for women I think is significant. We have what I call a ‘two-for’ here. This bill addresses a societal problem and it increases the health care of women.”
       Emergency contraception is a high dosage of the birth control hormone progestin and acts primarily by delaying ovulation. It can also prevent fertilization of an egg or implantation of an embryo in a woman’s uterus. Plan B, the most common type of emergency contraception, consists of two pills taken 12 hours apart. If taken within 72 hours of intercourse, it can cut the chance of pregnancy by up to 89 percent.
       Under current law, women who seek emergency contraception must have a doctor’s prescription. Enabling specially-trained pharmacists to dispense the pill as well will allow more women to access emergency contraception in the early hours after unprotected sex, said Melissa Kogut, chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Choice. Kogut pointed to a similar program in Washington state, where in the first 16 months, 42 percent of pharmacy visits for the pill were during evenings, weekends, and holidays.
       Opponents of the legislation say the pill can cause abortions and say the hormones could cause unknown long-term health risks. They also argue the pill places an unfair mandate on Catholic hospitals that don’t believe, for religions reasons, in providing the pill.
       “As legislators elected by your constituents, you often hear of the separation of church and state,” said Helen Jackson, a Brookline obstetrician and member of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. “Then why are there laws being suggested that violate my Catholic faith?”
       Supporters deny the pill causes abortions, and say side effects including nausea and headaches are minimal. “This is not the abortion pill. It’s not RU-486,” said Dr. Karen Lifford, medical director of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. “EC is progestin only. It’s safer than aspirin.”
       Officials at the Food and Drug Administration are debating a similar proposal that would provide Plan B over the counter. Concerned widespread availability of the pill would further increase promiscuity among teenagers, the agency rejected the proposal last June over protests from its scientific advisors.
       If approved, the legislation would put Massachusetts in the company of six other states—Alaska, Hawaii, California, Maine, New Mexico, and Washington—that have passed similar legislation.
       The proposal has the support of at least 83 lawmakers in the Legislature. The Senate approved a similar bill on a voice vote last year, and committee chairmen Sen. Susan Fargo and Rep. Peter Koutoujian predict the Upper Chamber will endorse it again. The proposal never surfaced in the House last session, when former Speaker Thomas Finneran said members were too busy working on the state budget, construction reform, and a transportation overhaul.
       The proposal has been endorsed by several health care industry organizations including the Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy, and the Massachusetts Public Health Association.
       Fargo and Koutoujian both suggested the Legislature will likely take the issue up after tackling the budget, stem cell research, and the governor and senate president’s plans for expanding health insurance.
       “I’d be interested in having it happening before the fall,” Fargo said.