10 Reasons Why the Obama Administration Is Wrong on Emergency Contraception
1. Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. EC offers a last chance to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse or birth control failure.
2. The administration wants to make EC available only to individuals age 15 and older. How many people do you know who are younger than 16 and have state-issued IDs with their actual birth date? Under the Obama-supported plan, these young people would have to hold passports to purchase EC, a ridiculous requirement given that less than 5 percent of all Americans—of any age—have passports.
3. Several studies have determined that no deaths or serious complications have been causally linked to EC.
4. There are no situations in which the risks of using combined or progestin-only EC outweigh the benefits.
5. Scientists have concluded that “repeated use of EC is safer than pregnancy, in particular when the pregnancy is unintended and women do not have access to safe early abortion services.”
6. One challenge to making EC more widely available is the belief that women may be less diligent with their ongoing contraception. But regular use of EC is far less effective than other contraceptive methods. I think women understand that “E” stands for “emergency” and will behave accordingly.
7. One study demonstrated that educating teens about EC does not increase their sexual activity levels or use of EC, but it does increase their knowledge about proper administration of the drug.
8. Emergency contraception is sold over the counter in six countries and can be obtained directly from a pharmacist, without a prescription, in 54 countries.
9. Many medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine support making Plan B available over-the-counter without restrictions.
10.When the Obama administration made its December 2011 decision to limit access to EC, it went against the recommendations of medical professionals who’d spent years researching this issue. As Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg put it:
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) determined that the product was safe and effective in adolescent females, that adolescent females understood the product was not for routine use, and that the product would not protect them against sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, the data supported a finding that adolescent females could use Plan B One-Step properly without the intervention of a healthcare provider.
So here’s what happened: FDA says anyone can buy the pill, HHS says you have to be 17. Judge Korman says anyone can buy the pill, then the FDA approves an “unrelated” application to sell it to girls 15 and older, which prompts the Department of Justice to challenge the broader court order about the pill in general.
So, at the end of the day, the DOJ is trying to restrict the (prescription-free) morning-after pill to women 17 and older, the FDA approved one kind for those 15 and older, and everybody still needs a government-issued ID to buy the pill, even the 15-year-olds. So if you need emergency contraception, kiddos, you best have your passport handy, because any teenager who has unprotected sex without a photo ID is just supposed to have a baby, that’s what you get for being so irresponsible, A BABY. Love, Obama.
—The Wonkette - Obama Does Not Want Babies To Have Babies
The Obama administration’s newest plan to make emergency contraception over-the-counter to some groups and not others only creates more confusion and a new set of barriers to access. I guess this administration would rather play Russian Roulette with teen pregnancy than make it easier to prevent.
Moral Panic! Dissecting the Newest Misinformation Campaign about Emergency Contraception
Plan B is safer than aspirin: It has few or no immediate side effects and no long-term side effects. In fact, the drug meets all of the FDA’s objective criteria for switching a drug from prescription to non-prescription status: It is non-toxic, it is impossible to overdose on it, it has no harmful effects on a woman or teen or a possible pregnancy, and it is not addictive. Girls and women are able to self-diagnose their risk and understand how to use EC from simply reading the label. Finally, Plan B does not require any medical screening or intervention from a health care worker to use it safely.
- guess what
- plan b isn’t going to increase stds
- plan b doesn’t cause stds
- give your kids condoms
- if you work at a store that carries condoms
- make them easily accessible and cheap
- condoms prevent stds
- plan b prevents unwanted pregnancies
- stop being stupid
- your kids aren’t going to have more sex
- they’re going to feel safer about the sex they’re already having
HUGE NEWS!
Court Orders FDA to Make Emergency Contraception Available Over-the-Counter for All Ages
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make emergency contraception available over-the-counter to women of all ages, marking a major win for public health and women’s rights in a year that has seen science otherwise buried under an avalanche of anti-choice politics. In his decision, Judge Korman orders the FDA to make levonorgestrel-based emergency contraception available over-the-counter without an age or point-of-sale restriction.
Anti-Choicers Will Deny How EC Works, Regardless of How Much Evidence You Give Them
The science is in and has been for awhile: Emergency contraception prevents fertilization. But anti-choicers continue to push quack science asserting the opposite. Why?
