Planned Parenthood Web site provides 'morning after' pill

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana has become the third state in the country where women can get prescriptions for the so-called "morning-after" pill through a Planned Parenthood Web site.\nWomen worried about a missed birth control pill or a broken condom can now log on to Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana\'s Internet site at www.ppin.org and fill out a questionnaire that pre-qualifies them for emergency contraception prescriptions. Once the form is submitted, it is reviewed by a nurse practitioner who then phones the prescription to a nearby pharmacy.\n"A lot of women might not be able to get in to a doctor or another nurse practitioner as quickly as they can get online access," said Maureen Dobie, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana. "Six days a week, nurse practitioners are reading these online assessments and prescribing the medication to the nearest pharmacy. This is our convenience to professional women to whom time is money."\nThough they\'ve been called "morning-after" pills, emergency contraception prevents pregnancy for three days after unprotected sex by preventing ovulation or fertilization using high doses of the same hormones used in birth control pills.\nEmergency contraception is different from RU-486 and Mifepristone, abortion pills that can chemically terminate a pregnancy if taken within its first seven weeks.\nMike Fichter, executive director of Indiana Right to Life, said his group would ask the state\'s Medical Licensing Board to review the service and suspend it.\n"We believe that Planned Parenthood\'s offering of the morning-after pill online is a grave health risk to Indiana woman," Fichter said. "By doing this, it bypasses all common sense protocall, including a face-to-face meeting with a doctor."\nFichter also expressed concern that minors could have access to the pill if they lie about their ages when completing the online forms.\nThe service, which began Wednesday, operates on a secure server, so all information remains confidential. The cost of the service is $40, roughly the same as an office visit to Planned Parenthood.\nSimilar online access to emergency contraception is available in Georgia and Illinois.