Get your free EC here

Geez, those abortion-rights folks just won't give it up. Even though EvangelAmerica (sic) is close to overturning Roe v. Wade and seems determined to outlaw abortion, those pesky pro-choicers keep finding "ways around."

The latest is free emergency contraception, or EC, for the women of Colorado. If you're in need of EC and happen to be near one of Planned Parenthood's 24 Rocky Mountain clinics, just stop on by for some free EC. The Rocky Mountain News reports that the gesture is meant to put Colorado Gov. Bill Owens on notice that his recent veto of a bill allowing Colorado pharmacists to dispense EC without a prescription is not appreciated.

According to PharmacyAccess.org, nine states do allow the sale of EC without a prescription. They are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington.

Funny, in a way, that conservatives haven't rallied against over-the-counter sales of EC in more states. In Canada, EC has been available OTC since last spring. A new Canadian survey shows easier availability of the pill will cut the nation's healthcare costs significantly, saving scarce healthcare dollars for more critical needs. ". Judith Soon, a scientist at the University of British Columbia who is conducting a study of the pill's use, says that costs for abortions and physician visits may well be dramatically reduced. Official numbers on the full effect of Plan B on abortion rates and healthcare costs will not be available for a year or more, but early indications are very positive," United Press International reports.

If that isn't enough of a market-driven reason to make EC available OTC in the United States, here's another. Canadian sales have almost doubled since the OTC sales were legalized, driven by American women buying EC online from Canadian pharmacies. So profits flow to the Canadian pharmaceutical that manufactures it, and Barr Laboratories, based here in the U.S., loses market share artificially. If that isn't government getting in the way of the free market, what is?