KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Mark Wardlow, former driver and loader with Interspace Moving and Storage, a company contracted with UA Facilities Management, claims that theft and drug use is common on the job. Police are currently investigating the allegations.

The Food and Drug Administration delayed its decision Friday on whether to make the emergency contraceptive "Plan B" pill available without a prescription.

Plan B, which has been on the market since 1998, can be taken up to three days after unprotected intercourse and prevents pregnancy in 89 percent of the women who take it.

Because it is not as effective as other contraceptive methods, Plan B is referred to as an emergency backup. The hormone levonorgestrel averts pregnancy but does not cause abortion, therefore is not an abortion pill.

Francine Deleon, a nurse at Campus Health Service, said the pill is popular among college woman for several reasons, and Campus Health fills the most prescriptions for Plan B at the end of spring break, Mondays and "whenever the Wildcats win."

"It's very popular because things happen and sexual experiences aren't always planned; girls miss pills or the condom breaks," Deleon said.

The FDA delayed the proposal because of insufficient data regarding the effects of Plan B on girls under 16 years old. However, in their letter to Plan B-company Barr Pharmaceuticals, the FDA said they wanted to keep working with Barr because a wide availability of contraceptives is important.

Dr. Edward S. Linn, Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Rush North Shore Medical Center in Chicago, said pregnancy and abortion pose higher risks than any contraception.

Linn said even young women would ingest much more hormones from regular birth control pills than from a single use of Plan B.

"I'm very confident of the safety of Plan B," Linn said.

The pill is currently available without prescription in some pharmacies in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico and Washington.

Even though females will have to continue to get a prescription at the UA, Deleon said Campus Health strives for fast access to the pill.

"We try to make the process as easy as we can, because people are going to be sexual regardless if it's very user friendly. But it can be too late really fast," Deleon said.

Females are able to get a prescription for a refill, which is valid for one year, or they can take home an extra package as a backup in case Campus Health is closed, Deleon said.

Even though they have to pay $10 for the appointment, students are provided with personal care and can ask for a refill after a certain amount of time, Deleon said.

"It's a good service; we are giving them a lot of information. We keep track of how often people come in and want Plan B, but I don't think it's got that much potential for misuse," Deleon said.

If Plan B was available over the counter, Campus Health would have a few less prescriptions to fill, but it would not affect them otherwise, Deleon stated.

Tessa Strasser, a political science and journalism sophomore, said she thinks the pill is a good backup if something unexpected happens and approves an over-the-counter sale of Plan B.

"The more precautions, the less people get pregnant. It's just like other contraceptives; like condoms are over the counter," Strasser said.

Campus Health currently sells about 30 packs of Plan B per week.

The main concern is that girls would use the pill as a regular birth control method and not for the occasional emergency.

Deleon said abuse of the pill is unlikely when the cost is $20 for Plan B, compared to the cost of regular birth control pills, which prevents pregnancy for an entire month as compared to three days.

Linn said women who want to use Plan B as a regular birth control need to understand it is only intended as an emergency contraceptive.

Linn said he would rather women become more educated about contraceptives than prohibiting an over-the-counter sale of the product.

"Right now, not enough Plan Bs are being sold, because almost half of all the pregnancies in the United States are unplanned," Linn said.

Linn said university health centers are a safe haven compared to the real world because universities try to offer students modern health care, complementing the modern education.

However, if females are still covered by their parent's insurance and have to take Plan B, parents are going to receive a bill and know what their daughter was doing, which is why over-the-counter sales would offer more privacy.

However, Alyssa Caraway, an undeclared freshman, said she does not believe in Plan B being offered over the counter.

"(I am) a hundred percent totally against it. It's important to get the personal check. If they just pop it like candy, something bad could happen to them," Caraway said.

Caraway said if access to Plan B is too easy, females will not take the proper precautions to protect themselves and will not care about protecting themselves if they always have a backup method in mind.

However, Deleon said Campus Health offers Plan B to students who need it.

"The way I look at it, we're here to help kids to stay in school and their lives might be disrupted by an unwanted pregnancy," Deleon said.