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HOUSE MEMORIAL 11

TH LEGISLATURE

- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -

FIRST SESSION

, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE NEW MEXICO HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION, IN

COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, THE BOARD OF

PHARMACY AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, STUDY THE AVAILABILITY OF

EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION THROUGHOUT NEW MEXICO AND PROVIDE THE

PUBLIC WITH INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION IS

AVAILABLE IN THE STATE.

WHEREAS, Subsection C of Section 24-10D-2 NMSA 1978

defines "emergency contraception" as "a drug approved by the

federal food and drug administration that prevents pregnancy

after sexual intercourse"; and

WHEREAS, according to the national women's health

information center at the United States department of health

and human services office on women's health, emergency

contraceptives are not the same as an abortion pill and keep a

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woman from becoming pregnant; and

WHEREAS, according to the national women's health

information center, the sooner a woman takes emergency

contraception after sex, the better it will prevent pregnancy;

and

WHEREAS, according to the New Mexico health policy

commission, "Unintended pregnancies in New Mexico compound the

state's current socio-economic status of having higher than

national poverty and uninsured rates", and "unintended

pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of morbidity for

women and with health behaviors during pregnancy that are

associated with adverse effects"; and

WHEREAS, according to the New Mexico health policy

commission, in fiscal year 2002, forty-four percent of New

Mexico's mothers did not intend their pregnancies, about one-

half of New Mexican women with unplanned pregnancies had not

been using contraception and nearly eighty percent of

pregnancies among young women of ages fifteen to seventeen are

unintended; and

WHEREAS, "plan B" is a certain form of emergency

contraception pill that consists solely of progestin; and

WHEREAS, in August 2006, the federal drug administration

approved plan B for over-the-counter status for adult women

eighteen years of age or older, which means that those women do

not need a prescription to obtain plan B; and

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WHEREAS, the federal food and drug administration does not

permit plan B to be offered at grocery or convenience stores,

and most women still must go to a pharmacy or to certain

medical providers to obtain plan B; and

WHEREAS, plan B is only available behind-the-counter at

pharmacies, and minors are still required to have a

prescription to obtain plan B and the state medicaid program

still requires a prescription for plan B as a condition of

reimbursement for both minors and adults; and

WHEREAS, there has been a great deal of confusion created

among patients, medical providers and pharmacists regarding the

new dual status of plan B as an over-the-counter medication for

adults and prescription-only for minors; and

WHEREAS, a recent study of New Mexico pharmacists

indicates that some pharmacists in the state have personal

objections to dispensing emergency contraception to patients;

and

WHEREAS, the board of pharmacy provides training to enable

pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraceptives to patients;

and

WHEREAS, it is critical for patients to obtain plan B and

other emergency contraceptives as soon as possible to prevent

pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, patients, pharmacists, medical providers and

public health officials do not know which pharmacies in the

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state stock and dispense emergency contraceptives, including

plan B, or which pharmacies have pharmacists on staff available

to prescribe plan B;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico

health policy commission be requested to conduct a survey to

determine the availability and accessibility of plan B,

including a survey of each pharmacy within the state to

determine the following:

A. whether the pharmacy and, if applicable, the

retail chain it is a part of, has any policy regarding the

stocking or dispensing of emergency contraception, including

over-the-counter dispensing of plan B;

B. whether the pharmacy stocks emergency

contraception, including plan B;

C. whether the pharmacy has staff on duty available

to dispense emergency contraception, including plan B;

D. if the pharmacy does not stock emergency

contraception, including plan B, what procedure does it follow

for obtaining it promptly, including identifying what

distribution centers the pharmacy uses;

E. whether the pharmacy has staff who have

authority to prescribe emergency contraception; and

F. whether the pharmacy has a policy of not

stocking or allowing individual pharmacists to refuse to

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dispense emergency contraception, including plan B, solely for

religious or moral reasons and if so, what the pharmacy's

procedure is for ensuring a woman can obtain emergency

contraception, including plan B, in a timely manner; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy

commission compile and evaluate the results of this survey and

prepare a report on the availability of emergency contraception

in New Mexico, including plan B, to the appropriate legislative

committee no later than November 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy

commission create and coordinate a working group that includes

representatives of the department of health and the New Mexico

pharmacists association, the board of pharmacy and one or more

community representatives with expertise and knowledge about

the availability and access to emergency contraception,

including plan B, in New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the New Mexico health policy commission, the

department of health, the board of pharmacy and the New Mexico

pharmacists association.

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