I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A new emergency contraceptive under review by the Food and Drug Administration, called Ella, is safe and effective, according to a staff report released Thursday. That determination bodes well for approval of the drug, which is described as twice as effective as existing emergency contraception drug, Plan B. Ella is also effective for up to five days after unprotected sex, while Plan B loses effectiveness after 72 hours.
FDA’s Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs is expected to meet Thursday to decide whether to recommend approval of the drug.
The report included data from tests of the drug involving nearly 5,000 women in the U.S. and Europe. According to the report’s summary of safety, “No deaths occurred and no unexpected adverse outcomes were observed in the clinical development program. The most common adverse reactions were nausea, headache, dysmenorrhea [painful menstrual periods], abdominal pain, fatigue, and dizziness.”
Although it has only been tested as an emergency contraceptive, and is only proposed to be used for emergency contraception, the drug is chemically similar to the abortion drug, RU-486. That similarity has earned it opposition from conservative groups.
