gainesville area now

	Gainesville Area NOW P.O. Box 2235 Gainesville, FL 32602 GA_NOW@Juno.com
National NOW Florida NOW Home Board Members Past Actions Join NOW Meetings Newsletter Events/Actions Calendar Press Releases Get Women Out to Vote! Universal Health Care Morning After Pill Access Universal Child Care Women's Wisdom NOW Store Links Sign the Pledge!!! Click here to read the Pledge to "Give A Friend the Morning-After Pill." Then sign it!	THE MORNING-AFTER PILL The Fight for Over-the-Counter Access & Greater Reproductive Freedom for Women What is the Morning After Pill? The Morning After Pill (MAP) can be taken up to 120 hours after sex to prevent pregnancy. Just like birth control pills, MAP works by preventing ovulation or making it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in the uterine wall. MAP is 75-80% effective in preventing pregnancy. Women can actually use their birth control pills to make their own MAP’s (check the links below for more information). MAP is also called Emergency Contraception, or Post-Coital Contraception. It is NOT the same as RU-486, the “French Abortion Pill.” If you’re already pregnant, MAP will not work. Is the Morning After Pill safe? MAP is safer than the use of long-term hormonal birth control, like Depo-Provera and birth control pills.There are possibilities for the same serious side effects as with the pill, but these side effects are rare with daily birth-control-pill use, and even more rare with MAP use. Doesn’t MAP make you sick? While some women experience nausea and vomiting, most women experience NO SIDE EFFECTS. Taking MAP with food and using an over-the-counter anti-nausea medication lessens nausea, or prevents it entirely. Is MAP available anywhere without a prescription? MAP is currently available over-the-counter in more than 38 countries, including France, Kenya, Norway, Guinea, Finland, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. England recently began to distribute MAP free in school clinics to students 16 and under.France also gives MAP out for free to people 16 and under. In the United States, MAP is available without a prescription, but it must be obtained at a pharmacy. This leads to problems because 1. Women should not have to discuss their sex lives with a pharmacist, especially while other people are standing near. 2. Many pharmacists have refused to dispense MAP and birth-controll pills, citing religious beliefs. 3. MAP should be available at any retail outlet, at any time, not just during pharmacy hours. 4. MAP is not medically different for women under 18, and so clearly all women should have this option available to them. What is the national campaign to gain over-the counter access to MAP? In December 2003, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings to decide whether or not to make the Morning After Pill available over-the-counter. Members of Gainesville Area NOW spoke at these hearings. The hearings resulted in a 23-4 decision to recommend approval for OTC Status. However, the FDA administration reversed that decision and decided to refuse full access. Barr Labs then reapplied for restricted access, or "behind-the-counter" with an age restriction of 18 or older to have btc access, and younger requiring a doctor's prescription. Campus NOW and Gainesville Area NOW think that women should be able to go into any drug store, gas station, or airport kiosk and buy the Morning After Pill. We should have the unfettered right to control our bodies 24 hours a day, and without having to beg a doctor or a pharmacist for permission. Why are feminists fighting for the Morning After Pill? ·A woman must be able to control when and if she has a child. This is a cornerstone of our freedom and self-determination as women. ·We should be able to have sex without risking pregnancy, childbirth, and 18+ years of childrearing. ·MAP is one more way for us to prevent unwanted pregnancy. And because no method of birth control is failsafe, we need every option available to us in order to have full control over our bodies and our futures. Aren’t women who use MAP irresponsible? In our experience it’s men, not women, who are irresponsible about birth control. We found that most men resisted or outright refused to wear condoms; rarely paid for half the cost of condoms or birth control pills; and seldom took the initiative to supply condoms. This forces women to take all the responsibility for birth control— and we almost always do. When we use MAP, we are yet again taking responsibility. Even though most of us use birth control consistently, sometimes we forget to take our pills, condoms break, our partners refuse to use condoms (or put up such a fight that we give in), or we are raped. A few times we have been “swept away” by romance or alcohol, but this shouldn’t mean that we are therefore required to have a baby! Men don’t have to pay this price! What are CNOW and GA NOW doing to get MAP over-the-counter? Campus NOW and Gainesville Area NOW, together with the New York Reproductive Rights Taskforce and Redstockings-Allies and Veterans, are using the grassroots organizing tools of civil disobedience, consciousness-raising (CR) and speakouts to win easier access to MAP. CR and speakouts help us get to the root of sexism by analyzing women’s everyday experiences. Our personal pains and struggles are NOT individual shortcomings, but part of bigger, political problems. We can’t solve them on our own, but when we unite and organize in the feminist movement, we have the power to make change. In 1970, the Women’s Liberation Movement won the right to abortion in NY— three years before Roe v. Wade— using CR and speakouts to mobilize women into action. We can do it again with the morning after pill! Based on CR conclusions we gathered from women in NYC, D.C., and Gainesville, the following are some reasons why we need MAP available over-the-counter: Lack of publicity & accessibility ·One woman completed pharmacy school without ever hearing about MAP (She later learned about it on the job). ·Several women said they knew about MAP, but had trouble finding pharmacies that stocked it, or clinics open when they needed it. ·One woman said: ”The time I needed MAP, I had to brave football-game-day traffic to go to the university‘s infirmary, which turned out to be closed.” Cost & required doctor’s visits ·One woman said: “One time I had to wait out the month wondering if I was pregnant because I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor and get [MAP].” ·Another said: “The cost that I found [for MAP] in NYC was exorbitant: It ran from $50-$150 with doctor’s visit.” Fear due to misinformation & hype ·Some women didn’t take MAP because of the myth that it causes uncontrollable vomiting. ·One woman said: “I decided not to get [MAP] because I was very busy and had heard that it would make you sick and vomit for days… I got pregnant and got an abortion a few months later.” Available birth control is unsatisfactory ·Almost all women were unsatisfied with their current methods of birth control. ·One woman said: “The pill makes me sick, so I rely on condoms, even though they make me nervous because they can break or come off.” ·Another said: “At the time [I took MAP], I wasn’t on birth control because I couldn’t afford it.” ·Another said: “I tried using condoms for about a month, during which time I got two yeast infections from the added irritation, and twice condoms came off inside me.” ·Another said: “I was on the pill for a year and gained almost 35 lbs. I also didn’t like that it increased my risk of cancer.” Men not taking reproductive responsibility (i.e. resistance to wearing or supplying condoms, getting vasectomies, paying for all or half of birth control, etc.) ·Most women fought to get their partners to take responsibility for pregnancy prevention. ·One women said: “I’ve taken [MAP] 3 or 4 times… once because the guy tricked me and said he had used a condom when he really hadn’t.” ·Another said: “I had a boyfriend who didn’t want to use condoms… I wanted to use condoms, but he basically wore me down, and once we didn’t use anything.” *** How can you help win greater access to MAP, abortion, & birth control?** 1. Join a grassroots feminist organization that fights for your reproductive freedom! Join NOW and support your local feminists.* 2. Come to the next Gainesville Area NOW meeting (call or email for more info). 3. Help spread the word by getting involved in the campaign— help flyer, make posters, make phone calls, etc. Contact Information: P.O. Box 2235 Gainesville, FL 32602 (352) 380-9934 ga_now@juno.com www.gainesvillenow.org Make checks payable to Gainesville Area NOW, & send to above address. Check out these links about MAP Guest Column - Kelly Mangan's (UF Campus NOW) Article in the Independent Alligator, January 15, 2004* villagevoice.com- New York's Civil Disobedience Action on Sunday, February 15. MAPconspiracy.org - a grass-roots movement with a complete resource for MAP information and action. backupyourbirthcontrol.org - a resource for do-it-yourself MAP. not-2-late.com - another resource Morning-After Pill on Planned Parenthood - Planned Parenthood's excellent page on MAP. Reproductive Health Technologies Project - another great and informative site.

The Morning After Pill (MAP) can be taken up to 120 hours after sex to prevent pregnancy. Just like birth control pills, MAP works by preventing ovulation or making it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in the uterine wall. MAP is 75-80% effective in preventing pregnancy. Women can actually use their birth control pills to make their own MAP’s (check the links below for more information).

MAP is also called Emergency Contraception, or Post-Coital Contraception. It is NOT the same as RU-486, the “French Abortion Pill.” If you’re already pregnant, MAP will not work.

MAP is safer than the use of long-term hormonal birth control, like Depo-Provera and birth control pills.There are possibilities for the same serious side effects as with the pill, but these side effects are rare with daily birth-control-pill use, and even more rare with MAP use.

While some women experience nausea and vomiting, most women experience NO SIDE EFFECTS. Taking MAP with food and using an over-the-counter anti-nausea medication lessens nausea, or prevents it entirely.

Is MAP available anywhere without a prescription?

MAP is currently available over-the-counter in more than 38 countries, including France, Kenya, Norway, Guinea, Finland, and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

England recently began to distribute MAP free in school clinics to students 16 and under.France also gives MAP out for free to people 16 and under.

In the United States, MAP is available without a prescription, but it must be obtained at a pharmacy. This leads to problems because

1. Women should not have to discuss their sex lives with a pharmacist, especially while other people are standing near.
2. Many pharmacists have refused to dispense MAP and birth-controll pills, citing religious beliefs.
3. MAP should be available at any retail outlet, at any time, not just during pharmacy hours.
4. MAP is not medically different for women under 18, and so clearly all women should have this option available to them.

In December 2003, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings to decide whether or not to make the Morning After Pill available over-the-counter. Members of Gainesville Area NOW spoke at these hearings. The hearings resulted in a 23-4 decision to recommend approval for OTC Status. However, the FDA administration reversed that decision and decided to refuse full access. Barr Labs then reapplied for restricted access, or "behind-the-counter" with an age restriction of 18 or older to have btc access, and younger requiring a doctor's prescription. Campus NOW and Gainesville Area NOW think that women should be able to go into any drug store, gas station, or airport kiosk and buy the Morning After Pill.

We should have the unfettered right to control our bodies 24 hours a day, and without having to beg a doctor or a pharmacist for permission.

·A woman must be able to control when and if she has a child. This is a cornerstone of our freedom and self-determination as women.

·We should be able to have sex without risking pregnancy, childbirth, and 18+ years of childrearing.

·MAP is one more way for us to prevent unwanted pregnancy. And because no method of birth control is failsafe, we need every option available to us in order to have full control over our bodies and our futures.

In our experience it’s men, not women, who are irresponsible about birth control. We found that most men resisted or outright refused to wear condoms; rarely paid for half the cost of condoms or birth control pills; and seldom took the initiative to supply condoms.

This forces women to take all the responsibility for birth control— and we almost always do. When we use MAP, we are yet again taking responsibility.

Even though most of us use birth control consistently, sometimes we forget to take our pills, condoms break, our partners refuse to use condoms (or put up such a fight that we give in), or we are raped. A few times we have been “swept away” by romance or alcohol, but this shouldn’t mean that we are therefore required to have a baby! Men don’t have to pay this price!

Campus NOW and Gainesville Area NOW, together with the New York Reproductive Rights Taskforce and Redstockings-Allies and Veterans, are using the grassroots organizing tools of civil disobedience, consciousness-raising (CR) and speakouts to win easier access to MAP. CR and speakouts help us get to the root of sexism by analyzing women’s everyday experiences.

Our personal pains and struggles are NOT individual shortcomings, but part of bigger, political problems. We can’t solve them on our own, but when we unite and organize in the feminist movement, we have the power to make change.

In 1970, the Women’s Liberation Movement won the right to abortion in NY— three years before Roe v. Wade— using CR and speakouts to mobilize women into action. We can do it again with the morning after pill!

Based on CR conclusions we gathered from women in NYC, D.C., and Gainesville, the following are some reasons why we need MAP available over-the-counter:

·One woman completed pharmacy school without ever hearing about MAP (She later learned about it on the job).

·Several women said they knew about MAP, but had trouble finding pharmacies that stocked it, or clinics open when they needed it.

·One woman said: ”The time I needed MAP, I had to brave football-game-day traffic to go to the university‘s infirmary, which turned out to be closed.”

·One woman said: “One time I had to wait out the month wondering if I was pregnant because I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor and get [MAP].”

·Another said: “The cost that I found [for MAP] in NYC was exorbitant: It ran from $50-$150 with doctor’s visit.”

·Some women didn’t take MAP because of the myth that it causes uncontrollable vomiting.

·One woman said: “I decided not to get [MAP] because I was very busy and had heard that it would make you sick and vomit for days… I got pregnant and got an abortion a few months later.”

Available birth control is unsatisfactory

·One woman said: “The pill makes me sick, so I rely on condoms, even though they make me nervous because they can break or come off.”

·Another said: “At the time [I took MAP], I wasn’t on birth control because I couldn’t afford it.”

·Another said: “I tried using condoms for about a month, during which time I got two yeast infections from the added irritation, and twice condoms came off inside me.”

·Another said: “I was on the pill for a year and gained almost 35 lbs. I also didn’t like that it increased my risk of cancer.”

Men not taking reproductive responsibility (i.e. resistance to wearing or supplying condoms, getting vasectomies, paying for all or half of birth control, etc.)

·Most women fought to get their partners to take responsibility for pregnancy prevention.

·One women said: “I’ve taken [MAP] 3 or 4 times… once because the guy tricked me and said he had used a condom when he really hadn’t.”

·Another said: “I had a boyfriend who didn’t want to use condoms… I wanted to use condoms, but he basically wore me down, and once we didn’t use anything.”

1. Join a grassroots feminist organization that fights for your reproductive freedom! Join NOW and support your local feminists.*

3. Help spread the word by getting involved in the campaign— help flyer, make posters, make phone calls, etc.

Guest Column - Kelly Mangan's (UF Campus NOW) Article in the Independent Alligator, January 15, 2004

villagevoice.com- New York's Civil Disobedience Action on Sunday, February 15.

MAPconspiracy.org - a grass-roots movement with a complete resource for MAP information and action.

Is MAP available anywhere without a prescription?

Available birth control is unsatisfactory

Men not taking reproductive responsibility (i.e. resistance to wearing or supplying condoms, getting vasectomies, paying for all or half of birth control, etc.)