The casually named "morning after pill "(also known as Plan B) is a very serious drug that has already been available in pharmacies without a prescription for anyone age 18 and older.
As if that wasn't bad enough, a decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman on Friday, April 5th, ordered the FDA to make the pill available for all ages. So within weeks, a teenager of 13, 14, 15 can go to her local drugstore and buy the pill off the shelf with no advice, counseling, or support whatsoever.
A pregnant girl who uses the morning after pill has no way of knowing whether the pill caused an abortion or not, because the pill can work in three ways. It can suppress ovulation, it can thicken the cervix's mucous thereby blocking sperm passage; it can make the lining of the uterus hostile to implantation of an already created embryo which causes an abortion. It's this last point that few people realize when they see the morning after pill sold alongside hair products and candy in their local stores, and it's this aspect that has pro life groups opposed to its availability.
Another issue is the long term effects of Plan B. In the rush to make this pill available, studies to determine the risks of long term and repeated use were not carried out. The chemicals used in morning after pills are very similar to those in birth control pills. Because of known health risks, the FDA requires a doctor's prescription for birth control pills. Yet morning after pills have a much higher dosage of the same chemicals. Why is there no such prescription required for the morning after pill? Did the FDA bow to political pressure rather than follow their normally lengthy requirements for product approval?
Anna Higgins, J.D., director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, expressed exasperation about today's news that the “morning-after” pill be available to girls of all ages without a prescription.
“This ruling places the health of young girls at risk. Making Plan B available for girls under the age of 17 without a prescription flies in the face of medical information and sound judgment. I am very troubled that the court has not fully taken into account the concerns expressed by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and many public health advocates that there is not enough data on the health effects of Plan B on young girls,” she said.
“According to the new numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control, there were 19,700,000 new STIs reported in 2008 – the last year for which numbers are available. Based on the CDC’s estimates, that brings the total number of STIs in the U.S. to just over 110 million. Most of the new cases crop up in young men and women aged 15-25. Making Plan B available over-the-counter for any age will put many of these young girls at further risk because it circumvents necessary medical screening for sexually active girls,” she told LifeNews.
“There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent. The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today’s ruling removes these commonsense protections,” concluded Higgins.
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