A decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could affect the availability of the "morning-after pill" to women who are at risk of pregnancy, according to University Health and Planned Parenthood officials.

The FDA has indefinitely delayed the release of the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill for over-the-counter sales throughout the United States, angering the director of the FDA's Office of Women's Health, who has resigned from the government organization.

The emergency contraceptive pill can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex by using the hormone levonorgestrel, found in many birth control pills, to stop the release of an egg from the ovary. It may also stop the fertilization of an egg. The pill is not effective if the user is already pregnant, according to the Plan B Web site.

It is currently sold over-the-counter in seven states, including Washington, California, Hawaii and Alaska. Currently, it is only available by prescription in Pennsylvania, a practice which some criticize.

"The longer you wait, the less effective it is," said Mark Milliron, director of Centre/Huntingdon Tapestry of Health, a division of the Family Health Council of Pennsylvania.

"My opinion is that by not making it accessible over-the-counter, they are making women jump through a bunch of hoops to get it."

Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services (UHS), outlined the process of getting the emergency contraceptive pill on campus.

"In order to get Plan B, you have to see a clinician, and it has to be prescribed. Here at Penn State, if the student needs Plan B and they have a prescription, they can get that filled at our pharmacy, but the pharmacy isn't open 24 hours a day," she said. "If the medication were available over-the-counter, it would be easier to obtain without the delays built in."

Spear talked about the urgency involved when using the pill.

"It has to be taken in a certain amount of time after unprotected intercourse -- the less the delay, the better," she said. "The less accessible it is, the more likely there will be unplanned pregnancies."

UHS Marketing Manager Ellen Nagy said birth control and antibiotics are the two most frequently prescribed medications the university offers.

The FDA cited the logistics of preventing adolescents under the age of 17 from getting the pill as one of its reasons for delaying the pill's over-the-counter release.

Milliron said age is irrelevant when his organization prescribes the pill to girls who come to the office to see a clinician about a suspected pregnancy.

"There is no age limit that I know of, and as far as I know, there is no legal reason or policy reason that would prevent us from prescribing it," he said. "According to the law, a young woman doesn't need her parents' permission to get health care for a reproductive issue, so we don't put up barriers for women getting health care."

Milliron said it was a minority of the FDA panel that was concerned that the clinical trials did not adequately address people under age 17.

Spear said there are obvious ways to keep children from buying the emergency contraceptive if it's released over-the-counter.

"If they feel that's a restriction that's important, it's possible to provide proof of age, like is necessary with the purchase of cigarettes or alcohol," she said. "I would suggest the FDA follow the recommendations of its scientists who have said that Plan B is safe to be provided over-the-counter."

Stephanie Underwood, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, said research indicates that greater emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) availability could prevent 1.7 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions each year in the United States.

"The FDA announcement is another delay with evidence of clear political overreach into what should be a simple public health decision," she said. "The scientific facts are clear that the ECP is safe, effective and meets all criteria of over-the-counter status."

Rachael Clauser, publicity chair for the Newman Catholic Student Association at Penn State, said she felt the pill shouldn't even be an option.

"We believe that sex is reserved for marriage, and we believe that by using birth control, we're taking the life of a human," she said. "As far as using the morning-after pill, if you've created a life, and you decide to take a pill the next day to kill it, then you're killing someone."

Carl Derk, an adviser for the Penn State chapter of Christians in Action, said the ideal birth control for him is abstinence, but that if people aren't going to abstain, then it is important that they use some kind of birth control method.

"I don't see it as an abortive kind of technique," he said. "I don't think any kind of medicine is necessarily an abortive technique unless it is already confirmed that there is conception."