The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it would hold a meeting today to discuss whether emergency contraception should be made available as an over-the-counter drug in Taiwan.
This is as part of a push by the government to protect women’s autonomy, which would make emergency contraception, also known as “the morning after pill,” available without a prescription, officials said.
The FDA yesterday said it would invite medical experts, children’s rights representatives, women’s groups, members of the Ministry of Education and other parties to share their opinions on the issue and find a consensus.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
To protect women’s autonomy and medical privacy, emergency contraceptive should be changed from a prescription drug to an over-the-counter drug, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) said at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that he would order the Ministry of Health and Welfare to consult with medical professionals as soon as possible, and Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) confirmed that the FDA would hold a meeting today.
In 2016, the FDA proposed changing emergency contraception’s status from a prescription drug to an over-the-counter drug, but suspended its plans after fierce debate.
The FDA’s proposal at the time included restrictions on emergency contraceptive, such as only being allowed for those older than 17 and prohibiting advertisement.
At the time, the Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology wrote a letter expressing its firm disagreement with the policy change.
In today’s meeting, the FDA would consider not only the medical implications of changing emergency contraception’s status, but also the societal consensus of such a change, FDA Deputy Director-General Wang Der-yuan (王德原) said yesterday.
As such, the meeting would see both medical experts as well as representatives from civil society groups participate, Wang added.
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