Monday, 22 November 2010
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The Center for Reproductive Rights Takes the FDA Back to Court Over Morning After Pill Restrictions
Currently, the FDA rule regarding to the morning after pill is that the buyer must be 17.
Why? Not because of health or science. Due to politics.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights website,
"In March 2009, when the court ruled that the FDA acted in bad faith when it repeatedly and unreasonably delayed making a decision on Plan B and departed in significant ways from its normal procedures, it thought the new administration would 'conduct a fair assessment of the scientific evidence.' This has obviously not happened, and the Center is returning to the courts to make sure the FDA complies with medical and scientific consensus that says there is no rationale for age restrictions to emergency contraception."
Now the Center is now taking the FDA back to court and is calling on supporters to write the FDA Commissioner to take immediate action to end restrictions on the morning after pill.
Here is the time line for Plan B:
- In 2005, the Center took the FDA to court for failing to grant over-the-counter status to emergency contraception against the advice of its scientific experts and in violation of its own procedures and regulations.
- In 2006, the FDA agreed to make Plan B available without a prescription, but only to women 18 and over and only behind the pharmacy counter.
- In 2009, the federal court ruled that the FDA “acted in bad faith and in response to political pressure” and ordered the agency to go back and revisit the age and behind-the-counter restrictions to emergency contraception.
- In 2010, people over 18 can purchase the pill, but there are other restrictions: women under 17 get a prescription, putting it behind the counter, and demanding government-issued ID be used for purchase.
Actually, depending on where you live there are even MORE restrictions, because apparently at Walgreens in Texas and Mississippi only WOMEN can purchase the pill.
Why? Because a dude might slip the pill in a woman's drink. Except, well, I don't know THIS COULD HAPPEN IF A WOMAN BOUGHT IT, TOO.
Not to mention this restriction is against the law-- there is no gender restriction preventing a man form being able to buy the pill.
Readers, this is an issue dear to my heart.
When I was in high school I needed the morning after pill once. I have been on birth control since high school, but for whatever reason I hadn't taken my pills for something that day and despite my voiced reservations to having sex, it drunkenly occurred.
The next day my boyfriend waited outside of the pharmacy for hours, trying to figure out how to get it because, at 17, neither of us could purchase it. No luck. I called everyone I could think of who had older siblings, anyone I was close to who was of age. As the hours passed I got more and more desperate, and finally asked an ex-boyfriend who was 18 to buy it (also telling him it was for a friend), who did.
I don't want any girl to go through the panic I did. I don't want any girl to beg her boyfriend to wait outside a pharmacy if a condom breaks or something similar to my situation occurs.
The most frustrating thing about the morning after pill restrictions is that they are unnecessary.
The truth is that science tells us there is no reason for an under 17 cutoff. Even FDA scientists will admit this.
So why is the FDA making it so hard for young girls to access a drug that could keep them from getting pregnant, something that would prevent teen pregnancy or abortion?
The morning after pill is not a substitute for birth control of any kind. It is for emergency use only.
You can read more here and here. If you are interested in more information about the morning after pill, you can read this.
What do you think?
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- From: TheCatInTheCradle@xanga
- About Me: Greetings! My name is Alexa. I write, I read, I tweet. Oh, and I kick ass on my good days. You can find all of my social media at http://flavors.me/alexajohnson
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Comments (27)
This is one area where I'm a little uneasy. I happen to come into contact with a lot of teenage girls who will take Plan B without knowing what it's supposed to do, how it works, or what the side effects are. Then they are panicking because they're bleeding, or not bleeding, or their period is late, or they're sick because they took it even though they were taking birth control and now they're pumped full of hormones. And they don't ask the pharmacist questions because they don't want to be judged, so the cycle continues.
Maybe they could find a way to make the instructions/information more easy to read? Idk.
Maybe stupid girls shouldn't get drunk and black out. Then they wouldn't be having sex with people and totally not realize it. Oh, wait, I meant stupid UNDERAGE girls.
I'm actually being serious. That point aside, I agree with the age restriction. Most girls 15, 16 years old can't just go pick it up simply because they don't have licenses. Who should be gaining access to this? THEIR PARENTS. If you think you're old enough to have sex, you should probably be talking to your parents about it. If you're old enough to drink and have sex, you should know the repercussions of both actions. I'm not saying you should have to have a baby just because you made some dumb mistake, but I'm thinking that if it's bad enough to hide from mom or dad, you probably shouldn't be doing it in the first place.
Some above posters seem to have plan B confused with the abortion pill....Plan B stops you from releasing an egg. It doesn't destroy a fetus if it is already conceived. Plan B is a brilliant idea, and I think it should be as easy to access as condoms. I find it really disturbing that it isn't.
The sad fact is, birth control failure happens, and it's great to have plan B to turn to when it does.
Too many girls put themselves in these kinds of situations..it's quite sad =/ If you're going to have sex, be protected at all costs. I'm aware that birth control fails because nothing is a 100 percent entirely, but girls and guys should practice safe sex regardless so girls don't have to go and get Pill B, which is used right after to prevent pregnancy after having unprotected sex.
This option should be available regardless to people. No restrictions at all. Same like condoms.
I think some of the fear with FDA is that people will use this pill as B.C. even though they strongly suggest not to. While on my monthly trip to Planned Parenthood to get my B.C. I overheard a man's conversation with thesecretary, he was purchasing the E.C., it was his 27th time buying that pill in a matter of two months, his excuse to the upset secretary? "It just over took me and I couldn't resist. Now we're scared she's going to get pregnant." ._.
Safe sex people, it only takes a matter of seconds to wear a condom or take a pill every day. I do think the pill should be available to a younger group since I've been through the panic myself, even though I was taking the up most precaution. I wasn't on Birth control yet and my SO at the time always wore a condom, and even with the condom he pulled out wearing it. One time it slipped off while in the process and we both freaked out. Thank goodness his Mom was so understanding! A little upset but then she took me to Planned Parenthood.
There's ways to protect, it's do you care enough to.
@SeeBeeWrite@xanga - i'm sorry, what? girls are just randomly taking the morning after pill? i guess i jut don't understand how they don't know what it is an how it works. any nurse/ ob gyn/ or woman at your campus clinic will tell you how it works and the side effects. i find it really alarming that girls aren't taking the time to research a pill before they take it.
I feel like people who take plan B like birth control ruin it for all the others. I've had to take it once for a legit reason. I'm on the pill but I lost my pack for a few days. I still use condoms, and while I was having sex the condom broke while he finished. (the day I found the pack of pills) I honestly felt like I was in a scene from Secret Life of an American Teenager. I would never ever use it because I felt like having sex without a condom. I do feel there shouldn't be an age restriction on it because accidents do happen. But at the same time I think back to high school, and I know plenty of people who would have abused the power of Plan B.
@TheCatInTheCradle@xanga - some girls are too freaked out and scared that they're pregnant or may become pregnant to think straight let alone do lengthy research. if they hear that a pill will prevent the pregnancy in case of an emergency they will pop it without thinking about it.
anyway. I think that underage girls should be able to get the pill.
@turn0ff_theshyness_820@xanga - i think a good way to prevent this usage would be real sex ed classes and parents actually talking to their kids.
also, for most girls there is at least one more barrier to easy plan b access-- the cost. i don't think most high schoolers could afford $50 a pop a few times a a week.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - do you really think most people who think they are ready to have sex talk to their parents about having sex? i think most people don't ever talk to their parents about sex. at any age.
honestly, parents need to take a larger role in teen sex education and support, as many just let their kids get educated by other kids or the media. parents should talk to their kids first because that is their job, to teach us things, not the other way around.
teens should have access to several means of birth control to prevent this from occurring.
also, shaming someone who was pretty much raped, as i did not give consent and voiced that, and calling them stupid isn't the most classy.
i agree that there is no reason for having age restrictions. the only remotely valid reason is that it gives parents a way to control their kids' sex lives. the problem is: if you aren't already involved in educating your kids about sex by the time they consider having it, a stupid law isn't going to help. @SeeBeeWrite@xanga - i don't know what you're talking about, honestly. every time i've gotten Plan B, the directions, risks, etc. have always been clearly explained. i can understand that girls may be too embarrassed to ask questions... but that's THEIR personal problem. not something that can be addressed by age restrictions.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - in my family there are only two options: abortion before the matriarch of the family (aka, the grandmother who can disown me) notices, or childbirth. adoption is strictly forbidden. now, i lucked out because my parents are understanding, liberal, etc. but it wouldn't have taken much for my dad to end up just as strict as his mother. the problem is that, just because someone is your biological parent and responsible for you, that doesn't make them the person you should go to for every little thing.
The FDA is nothing short of a terrorist organization. That's all there is to it.
maybe they should be put on birth control.
no matter if they shouldn't be having sex, or be drinking, or blah blah blah don't you think knowing you are not ready for a baby is a mature enough decision to be able to get plan b? would you rather these "too young" girls have babies instead? really, they're going to have sex regardless, just let 'em have it.
In my state, the legal age of consent is 16, though there are caveats that allow those as young as 13 to have sex legally. Therefore, the legal age to get the Plan B pill should at least match with that age, if the government REALLY feels that a legal age is necessary. Why say that someone 13 years old can have sex, and then deny them the ability to prevent a pregnancy? Its messed up. I'm in total agreement that Plan B should be available to anyone.
@TheCatInTheCradle@xanga
"do you really think most people who think they are ready to have sex talk to their parents about having sex? i think most people don't ever talk to their parents about sex. at any age." I did. My parents knew I was waiting until I was 17. They also saw it on my face the day my now-fiancee and I gave our virginity to each other.
I honestly don't know enough about the pill to have a good opinion on this one. Too many conflicting statements revolve around it, so I haven't been able to piece together any truths about it.
Seems that it would make sense for the age of contraceptive availability to match the age of consent, though. (Most 18 year old's aren't really responsible enough to have sex, anyway.)
@VampireOfSeduction@xanga - while it might seem sensible that the age of contraceptives match the age of consent, it is important to keep in mind that age is a made up number that is really only in existence to that people can be prosecuted for having sex with someone who is younger than them.
also, even though most kids aren't responsible or mature enoguh to be having sex younger than 18, the truth of the matter is that they are. a lot of them. so rather than letting them have unprotected, irresponsible sex, they should be able to purchase and use whatever will keep them from having babies.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - i agree with this
I dont understand either. you dont need to be 17 or 18 to buy condoms.. why this one? because its a pill?
I would LOVE for my 15 year old sister to have the option to go buy the pill if she - stupidly - has unprotected sex. I'd love for her 16 year old boyfriend to be able to buy it for her too.
dont want her to need to come to me for it.
while I'd be happy to be trusted to go get it if she didnt want to tell our parents, she should be able to get it herself.
@TheCatInTheCradle@xanga - "it is important to keep in mind that age is a
made up number..." I'm not saying it isn't. I just meant that if the state's going to decide you can have sex at age 15, it should also allow you access to means of avoiding conception.
But again, I honestly don't know what the pill even does. From what I've heard though, it causes you to have your period, which would flush out an existing pregnancy, or prevents a blastocyst? from attaching to the uterine wall. Either would be murder in my eyes, and not okay at any age.
@VampireOfSeduction@xanga - the morning after pill is just a double dose of hormones you get in a birth control pill, it doesn't cause you to have a period. it's not an abortion pill.
I think that they should be sold to males here in Texas and that they should not have age restrictions.
The summer after my sophomore year in High School, me and my boyfriend had a condom accident and, like always, I freaked out. I was 16 and he was 17 but they would not sell it to him because, of course, he is a guy.....Also I've heard, in my Health and Sex Ed class, that the teen pregnancy rate has been increasing, and ask why.. -_-
I can definitely relate to this. This past summer I had to rush to planned parenthood to get Plan B because a condom broke and I don't take oral contraceptives. It was a lifesaver that I had the exact amount of money I needed and I was the exact age to get the pill.(BTW: Planned Parenthood sells it for $35) If this happened last year - I would've been screwed. I don't think the FDA should make the legal age to get the pill seventeen, they should definitely lower it. Plus why does it matter if the buyer is a boy or a girl? Hmm, discrimination much? If everyone is concerned about women getting abortions they should consider this. Plus, it lowers the rate of teen pregnancy, everyone wins.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga -
I definely think their should be no age limit. People can say that "girls that age shouldn't be having sex, shouldn't be drinking, should be talking to their parents, shouldn't be wreckless, etc" BUT the truth of the matter is that they ARE whether or not you agree with it. It does not in any way make them "stupid". Comments like yours make young girls afraid to talk to their parents, because they don't want their parents looking down on them, like you are. We're all human, we all make mistakes. Sex is a natural process. Virginity was created by society and religion, but in reality, sex is one of the most natural acts. It's more natural than blogging on xanga. While it's great that you want to reach out and prevent people from making "bad choices", until we fix the human race, we're going to need a back up plan. i.e: plan b.
Also to the author- if you were on b.c and simply missed a pill, 2-4 of your regular pills act as plan b(look up the exact amount for your brand) It's often cheaper and easier to just take those pills and throw out the pack rather than buy plan b.