I told you so - the government is bamboozling us about Plan B. The
Obama administration announced on Monday that it will now allow girls
and women of all ages to purchase the Plan B pill without a
prescription. This is exactly what I have been warning the American
public about.I am now totally convinced that our current federal government loves confusion. When you have a single agenda, and many ways to spin it, the American public never gets a clear answer and that is exactly what has happened with the Plan B emergency contraception controversy.
Just last week, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make only certain forms of the emergency contraception pill available to children of all ages, without a prescription.
In a confusing ruling, the court stated that while the two-pill version of emergency contraception could be sold over-the-counter to women of all ages, the one-pill version would still only be sold to women age 17 or older. The court did not explain its reasoning.
One has to remember that the FDA first approved this form of over-the-counter contraception for women of all ages back in 2011. When that initial FDA ruling came out, there was a loud public outcry and restrictions were quickly put in place barring women under the age of 17 from purchasing these pills.
But of course, that was just one spin on the story. In April, a New York judge ruled that restricting access to Plan B was inappropriate, forcing the FDA to reconsider their initial finding that emergency contraception should be available to children of all ages.
And then, we got another spin on the story, as the FDA tried to lower the age limit for access to emergency contraception to 15 last month. There was another outcry and more criticism, because we know perfectly well that a 15-year-old may not have a clear understanding of how to utilize emergency contraception.
Now, we see that the FDA will get to do what they wanted to do in the first place. How convenient.
So, what’s the message here? The polarizing health care agenda of
this federal government is like a train without a stop and parents need
to be aware of this.As I have said before, this is a medication. Yes, I know that it is safe – but it does have side effects. Side effects to Plan B can include, but are not limited to: migraines, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and blood clots.
If this drug is available to young children, it might lead to problems including the misuse of the medication and the risk that children will utilize this as a regular form of contraception.
Furthermore, it will exclude parents from the decision-making process. And in my opinion, parents can be very valuable in counseling children about proper behavior and doing the right thing.
This is taking parents and caregivers out of the equation and inhibiting their ability to help their children live a healthy and happy life. America, we are being bamboozled. Wake up and pay attention
Emergency contraception is about to be accessible to women of all ages - without a prescription.
The federal government on Monday told a judge it will reverse course and take steps to comply with his order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions.
The Department of Justice, in the latest development in a complex back-and-forth over access to the morning-after pill, notified U.S. District Judge Edward Korman it will submit a plan for compliance. If he approves it, the department will drop its appeal of his April ruling.
Open access: Women of all ages will now be able to purchase emergency contraception without their parent's consent or a prescription
'Once the court confirms that the government's understanding is correct, the government intends to file with the Circuit Court notice that it is voluntarily withdrawing its appeal in this matter,' the department said in a letter to the judge.
A woman's right: Annie Tummino is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit over unrestricted access to the morning-after pill. She calls the feds move a step towards 'reproductive justice'
Last week, the appeals court dealt the government a setback by saying it would immediately permit unrestricted sales of the two-pill version of the emergency contraception until the appeal was decided.
That order was met with praise from advocates for girls' and women's rights and with scorn from social conservatives and other opponents, who argue the drug's availability takes away the rights of parents of girls who could get it without their permission.
Advocates for girls' and women's rights said Monday the federal government's decision to comply with the judge's ruling could be a move forward for 'reproductive justice' if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acts quickly and puts emergency contraception over the counter without restriction.
Annie Tummino, lead plaintiff in a lawsuit over unrestricted access to the morning-after pill and coordinator of the National Women's Liberation, said women and girls should have 'the absolute right to control our bodies without having to ask a doctor or a pharmacist for permission.'
'It's about time that the administration stopped opposing women having access to safe and effective birth control,' she said in an emailed statement.
The government had appealed the judge's underlying April 5 ruling, which ordered emergency contraceptives based on the hormone levonorgestrel be made available without a prescription, over the counter and without point-of-sale or age restrictions.
Dismissed: U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ruled in April that women of all ages should be able to purchase emergency contraception. The government appealed, but are now dropping their case
It asked the judge to suspend the effect of that ruling until the appeals court could decide the case.
But the judge declined, saying the government's decision to restrict sales of the morning-after pill was 'politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent.' He also said there was no basis to deny the request to make the drugs widely available.
The government had argued that 'substantial market confusion' could result if the judge's ruling were enforced while appeals were pending, only to be later overturned.
The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female hormone progestin than is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent, but it works best within the first 24 hours.
If a girl or woman already is pregnant, the pill, which prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg, has no effect.
The Food and Drug Administration was preparing in 2011 to allow over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill with no limits when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled her own scientists in an unprecedented move.
The FDA announced in early May that Plan B One-Step, the newer version of emergency contraception, the same drug but combined into one pill instead of two, could be sold without a prescription to those age 15 or older.
Its maker, Teva Women's Health, plans to begin those sales soon. Sales had previously been limited to those who were at least 17.
The judge later ridiculed the FDA changes, saying they established 'nonsensical rules' that favored sales of the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill and were made 'to sugarcoat' the government's appeal.
He also said they placed a disproportionate burden on blacks and the poor by requiring a prescription for less expensive generic versions of the drug bought by those under age 17 and by requiring those age 17 or over to show proof-of-age identification at pharmacies. He cited studies showing that blacks with low incomes are less likely than other people to have government-issued IDs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339317/Federal-government-comply-New-York-judges-ruling-Women-ages-able-purchase-emergency-contraception-prescription.html#ixzz2VvZg1GWz
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
