Ellertson C, Trussell J, Stewart F H, Winikoff B
Population Council, New York City, USA.
J Am Med Womens Assoc (1972). 1998;53(5 Suppl 2):226-9, 232.
Leading health agencies, including the World Health Organization and the US Food and Drug Administration, consider emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) safe and effective and have called for better access to them. Yet debate about whether ECPs should continue to be available by prescription only has been limited. After measuring the characteristics of ECPs against criteria developed to assess the necessity for prescription status for drugs generally, we argue that ECPs can safely be marketed over the counter. Professional assistance is not necessary since the woman diagnoses her own need for the pills and takes them herself. ECPs do not need to be adjusted for the individual woman and pose no potential threat of overdose or addiction. There are no contraindications except confirmed pregnancy (in which case the therapy will not work), and monitoring is not necessary. We conclude that prescription requirements that keep ECPs from women provide little, if any, benefit.
包括世界卫生组织和美国食品药品监督管理局在内的主要卫生机构认为紧急避孕药安全有效，并呼吁更方便地获取此类药物。然而，关于紧急避孕药是否应继续仅凭处方获取的争论一直很有限。在对照一般用于评估药物处方必要性的标准衡量紧急避孕药的特性后，我们认为紧急避孕药可以安全地作为非处方药销售。由于女性能够自行诊断自身对药物的需求并自行服用，因此无需专业协助。紧急避孕药无需针对个体女性进行调整，不存在过量用药或成瘾的潜在风险。除了已确认怀孕（在此情况下该疗法无效）外没有其他禁忌，也无需进行监测。我们得出结论，阻止女性获取紧急避孕药的处方要求即便有任何益处，也是微乎其微的。
