Emergency Contraception Consent, Release and Assessment Form

This is a copy of the "Emergency Contraception (EC) Consent, Release and Assessment" form used by my local Safeway pharmacy to distribute Plan B to women and teenagers in my neighborhood.

Knowing what I know about the risks of abortion and contraception, I certainly wouldn't put my professional posterior on the line using this form, but heck I suppose women are to leave all this stuff to the professionals and not worry their pretty little heads over the details.

There is at least one typo ("batter" instead of "better") and one error ("I understand that the laws of my state may affect my remedies in connection with this vaccination." Should be some other word than 'vaccination'.) The rest of it is pretty evasive and deceptive.

For example, there is no mention of the risk of ectopic pregnancy when using MAPs. The "morning after pill" is associated with a 10-fold increase in risk of this condition when its use fails to prevent pregnancy. Wouldn't it be the responsible and professional thing to do to let women know about this risk in a clear and unambiguous way, such as -- the “morning after pill” is associated with a 10-fold increase in risk of this condition when it successfully prevents implantation in the uterus...as it is designed to do. Why is everyone involved with this drug more concerned about protecting the sale of this drug than a woman's health?

There's a sentence that grants permission for Safeway to "release any medical or other information to my physician, Medicare, Medicare HMO or insurance company...to enable Safeway to process my insurance claims with respect to the medication." However, it does not include permission for information to be released to the folks at the "Emergency Contraception Project" as stated must happen in the recommended protocol agreement put out by the WSPA. Why not? Are pharmacists sharing personal health information with the ECP and not getting the consent of women?

No definition of "pregnancy" is given as in, "EC will not disrupt an established pregnancy." Well, if a woman believes that anything after fertilization equals pregnancy or a baby and Safeway believes pregnancy or a baby doesn't begin until implantation then we have what is called in modern parlance a failure to communicate, and I don't care what the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or the World Health Organization has to say about it. Instead of explaining to women this critical nuance, they keep repeating the mantra, "EC is not an abortifacient. EC will not distrupt an established pregnancy. EC is contraception..." Repeat as necessary to convince yourself and others you aren't partaking in an abortion.

Lawyers please feel free to pick this document apart at your leisure.