Medical experts backed moves to reclassify the morning-after pill as over-the-counter medication yesterday, though women's groups expressed varied opinions.
"Past research has shown that the morning-after pill is a safe emergency contraceptive method. In order to allow women to promptly obtain the medication, the pill should be available over the counter so that they don't have to go to the doctor first and delay the [process]," Taipei Medical University Hospital gynecologist Liu Wei-min (
Liu said that the morning-after pill did not induce an abortion, but delayed ovulation, preventing sperm and ova from fertilizing in the womb.
"Taiwan is a country with a high abortion rate, and statistics have shown that countries which promote the use of the morning-after pill have a much lower abortion rate," Liu said.
"If the morning-after pill can be classified as over-the-counter medication, it should prevent more abortions from taking place," Liu said.
Liu was speaking during a public hearing held by Taiwan Solidarity Union whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) to discuss the ramifications of reclassifying the medication.
Lo said government statistics showed the birth rate of teenage girls aged 15 to 19 was 1.3 percent, the highest in Asia.
Although women's groups also expressed support for the promotion and use of the morning-after pill, most did not focus on the issue of over-the-counter availability.
"Condoms remain the primary contraceptive method we want to promote, but past polls have shown that 40 percent of teen-agers who are sexually active do not use them during sexual intercourse," said Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), director of the Garden of Hope Foundation.
"If teenagers do not use condoms during sexual intercourse, it is necessary to promote the use of the morning-after pill to reduce the loss of new lives. The last thing we want to see is teenagers going through with an abortion," she said.
But Sue Huang (
"I fear that the promotion of the morning-after pill will result in teenagers becoming even less willing to use condoms. If they can think of contraceptive matters within 24 hours of having sex, why can't they do so 24 hours beforehand?" Huang said.
"And anyway, the safety of the pill is still in doubt. There is no research available on the effects of the pill for long-term users, and it's not clear that the pill doesn't harm teenagers," she said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei City Reserve Command yesterday initiated its first-ever 14-day recall of some of the city’s civilian service reservists, who are to undergo additional training on top of refresher courses. The command said that it rented sites in Neihu District (內湖), including the Taipei Tennis Center, for the duration of the camp to optimize tactical positioning and accommodate the size of the battalion of reservists. A battalion is made up of four companies of more than 200 reservists each, it said. Aside from shooting drills at a range in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the remainder of the training would be at
RSS