WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- Sales of the morning-after pill Plan B in the United States have doubled since it was made available without a prescription.
Drug maker Barr Pharmaceuticals said sales will probably be close to $80 million for 2007, The Washington Post said Friday.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of the controversial emergency contraceptive without a prescription for women 18 and older last August.
Women's health and family-planning advocates say it illustrates the value of easing access to birth control to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, the newspaper said.
Conservative groups, however, question the drug's safety and maintain the pill can cause the equivalent of an abortion.
Advocates would like to see the FDA remove the age restriction.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
