Other Gynuity News- 2006

Plan B approved for over-the-counter use: Only the first step
August 25, 2006 - Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Plan B emergency contraception, which is taken after unprotected sex to avoid an unintended pregnancy, has been approved for over-the-counter use by women 18 years and older. Although the age restriction imposed by the FDA creates an unnecessary barrier to access for adolescents, the announcement that Plan B will be available over-the-counter in the United States is welcome news.  Plan B is safe and effective, and easier access to emergency contraception has the potential to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, which represent a serious public health problem in the US and appear to be on the rise among women of color and low-income women.

Gynuity Health Projects signed on to a press release generated by colleague agency Ibis Reproductive Health.
Download the full press release here

NAF 2006 Scientific Paper Award given to Gynuity staff and colleagues
April 2006 - In April, Gynuity staff member Wesley Clark and colleagues received a 2006 National Abortion Federation Scientific Paper Award for a paper on simplifying medical abortion in the United States. The paper highlights interim results of a study that seeks to develop means of decreasing routine dependence on ultrasonography in medical abortion practice. The study aims to increase the convenience and availability of the treatment, reduce service delivery costs, and make medical abortion more useful in low-resource settings where ultrasound technology is not always available. The award was sponsored by Ortho Women’s Health & Urology, a division of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. Collaborating colleagues and institutions include E. Steve Lichtenberg from Family Planning Associates Medical Group, Chicago, IL, Johanna Morfesis from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., NY, NY, Suzanne M. Schweikert from Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties, CA and Jini Tanenhaus from Planned Parenthood of New York City, NY.

For information about the study, please contact Wesley Clark (wclark@gynuity.org).