We wanted to fill you in on some exciting news about emergency contraception.

Last week the FDA approved a generic version of Plan B.

This whole thing gets a little tricky since Plan B is available with and without a prescription depending on your age, but we'll try to clarify what exactly was approved. Duramed still has market exclusivity on over-the-counter Plan B which can be purchased by women age 17 and older without a prescription until August 24, 2009. However, the recently approved generic version (which will be marketed as Next Choice™) will be available to women age 17 and younger with a prescription in the near future (hopefully in August, Next Choice will be available over-the-counter as well).

The price of Next Choice™ will likely vary by pharmacy, but will most likely be 20-70 percent cheaper than the name brand version which ranges from $35-70 depending on the pharmacy. Clear as mud? Check out these FAQs for more info.

I don't know about you, but a lower cost version of emergency contraception might be just what I need to stock up on for a rainy day...Not that it's a substitute for birth control, mind you. But you can never be too careful...

At The National Campaign, we like to keep you firmly in the loop...so, here's some news about Plan B in case you haven't heard yet:

A federal judge recently ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make Plan B emergency contraception available without prescription to 17 year olds and to consider approving it for those even younger.  Many health groups have long advocated that Plan B should be made available without prescription and without age restriction.  At present, only women 18 and older can receive Plan B without a prescription. 

Read more in this piece from the New York Times.

As noted in a post by Jezebel last week, MTV is under fire from the conservative advocacy group Concerned Women for America for advertising Plan B emergency contraception on their website. A few points on the subject:

1. I can't resist noting that if Concerned Women is so concerned about minors getting funny ideas in their heads about sex from visiting mtv.com, they might want to start by protesting videos of hot tub group make-out sessions rather than contraception ads. Seriously though, what's sexier, naked twenty-somethings making out in a hot-tub, or a pregnancy scare?
   
   
2. More to the point, MTV is targeted toward young adults and many young adults use contraception. According to an article on AdAge.com, part of the argument against advertising Plan B on a website with users under 18 is the age-restriction on Plan B. First of all, I'm a bit skeptical about the suggestion that "the owner of Plan B is directly targeting younger girls in order just to sell more of their product."  I can't speak for the makers of Plan B, but it seems to me that a more effective marketing strategy would be to target a demographic that can simply go to the store and buy your product without a prescription. Furthermore, just because Plan B is not approved for over-the-counter sale to women under 18 does not mean that teens don't need to learn about sex and relationships before the age of emancipation. (For more on the Plan B age-restriction, check out the National Women's Health Network's statement on the subject).
   
   
3. Which brings me to my last point. The concerns of CWA seem to me a perfect illustration of why comprehensive sex education—that is, sex education that teaches both abstinence and contraception—is crucial to help young people make sense of the many conflicting messages they are exposed to by media, school, parents, and peers. In the AdAge.com story, parent Denise O'Donoghue is quoted as saying that upon initiating "the talk" with her 14-year-old daughter, she was "shocked at how much misinformation and misconception among kids is really out there about sexual education."

Wouldn't it be more constructive to ensure that teens are equipped with accurate knowledge about sex and relationships rather than pointing fingers at a media outlet which targets young adults for advertising contraception?  What do you think?