The Parliament decided to restore the possibility of purchasing over-the-counter drugs intended to prevent conception by blocking or delaying ovulation. These are hormonal contraceptives containing ulipristal acetate (used orally up to 120 hours following intercourse, like ellaOne), which from July 23, 2017 can only be purchased with a prescription.
Morning following pills. These are not early abortion pills. Are they toxic?
During a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Health Committee, the Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna reminded that it is not an early abortion pill, but a pill that prevents fertilization.
Prof. medical sciences Piotr Sieroszewski, head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and head of the Department of Fetal Medicine and Gynecology at the Medical University of Lodz, president of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, added that ulipristal prevents ovulation. As he pointed out, this pill is 60% to 80% effective – it only works if you take it early enough. Importantly, when it is used following conception, it does not damage the fetus and does not affect the further development of pregnancy.
Prof. Piotr Sieroszewski emphasized that ulipristal is toxic, but in a high dose, while a single dose of this tablet has virtually no effect on a woman’s body.
Emergency contraception – return to old regulations
Legal advisor Aleksandra Kosiorek, who runs a law firm specializing in medical law and a member of the Prawniczki Pro Abo group, believes that restoring the possibility of purchasing these drugs without a prescription is a desired and long-awaited change. – When the Law and Justice government dealt with the category of accessibility of the so-called emergency contraception, did not change the criteria according to which drugs are classified as OTC (over the counter) or Rp (prescription), but added one entry to the Pharmaceutical Law. From that moment of this modification, medicinal products intended for use in contraception had to receive the Rp availability category, regardless of the fact that previously they de facto fell within the rules of availability without a prescription – emphasizes the legal counsel.
