Emergency contraceptive pills would continue to require a doctor's prescription for the time being, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday, after a multi-stakeholder meeting the same day failed to reach a consensus over whether to reclassify the drug as over-the-counter medication.
The FDA invited representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Department of Gender Equality, civil society groups, the pharmaceutical industry and other groups to discuss the potential relaxation of rules governing the so-called "morning-after pill."
However, opinions were divided as to whether to reclassify emergency contraception to enable it to be available for purchase at pharmacies without a doctor's prescription — which is currently required.
Photo: Hung Su-ching, Taipei Times
Speaking in support of deregulation, pharmacist Li Yi-hsuan (李懿軒) from the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations said that the WHO recommends making emergency contraception available as a backup when regular contraception fails.
"Eighty percent of developed countries" — including the US, the UK and Australia — have already reclassified emergency contraceptive pills as over-the-counter medication, Li said.
The Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation said that "emergency contraceptive pills are not high-risk medication" and greater availability would "protect women from the risk of forced or unexpected pregnancy, and safeguard their bodily and reproductive autonomy."
Speaking in opposition to the proposal, Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology secretary-general Huang Jian-pei (黃建霈) said that emergency contraceptive medicine could "lead to problems if used without understanding the risks."
Huang, who is director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MacKay Memorial Hospital, cited an example of a woman who mistook abnormal vaginal bleeding as her menstrual period.
She died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after taking emergency contraception because she "had not taken the bleeding seriously," he said.
FDA Deputy Director-General Wang Der-yuan (王德原) said after the meeting that the discussion involved social science, natural science and human rights considerations, and that "there is no zero-risk decision."
The issue of whether to reclassify emergency contraception had been raised as early as 2016 by the FDA, but the proposal was shelved due to a social backlash at the time.
On Tuesday, Taiwan People's Party Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) called for emergency contraceptives to be changed from prescription drugs to over-the-counter medication.
"An online survey in 2024 found that 65 percent of [respondent] women supported making it available," Lin said at the legislature in Taipei.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that he had already asked Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) to coordinate with the medical community to reach a consensus as soon as possible on the issue.
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