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HOUSE MEMORIAL 11
48
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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.164994.2
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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