Political & Elections

hope · Guru

Obama Administration Overrules FDA Approval of Plan B One-Step for Over-the-Counter Sale for Women of All Ages

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Yet, we allow girls under 17 to get abortions, depending upon the state.

http://www.essortment.com/teen-abortion-laws-united-states-50073.html

What's interesting is how many states have a rule that isn't being enforced on parental notification due to "court order".

longprime · Guru

put aside the logic and look at the problem as a parent of 17 yr or less.

We don't let 17yo or less make financial contracts of any form for a reason. Likewise should the health issue be put on the minor? A minor, can not get a flu shot, without parent's consent. evileye

And if a 12 year old asks for a the morning after pill, What do you think is a likely cause? Shades of Sandasky?

hope · Guru

Thanks, Samurai.

Now back to our regularly scheduled squabbles.... smile

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

I am sorry for your loss, Hope. cry

hope · Guru

I'm fine, thanks for asking busdriver. Trying to get it together for Christmas and wondering if the snowstorm will hit here (Kansas) like they say!

busdriver11 · Guru

We all sound snappy sometimes, whether intentional or not. Sorry about your family member, hope. Are you doing okay?

hope · Guru

Sorry I sounded so snappy last night, SLS. Had just gotten home from a family member's funeral halfway across the country. Not a good time to post on a message board! disbelief

Cartera · Guru

I agree with you Samurai. Preventing a pregnancy is safer than going through an abortion and much safer than childbirth.

You can't compare the birth control that you take pretty much every day for many years to a Plan B pill.

-- Edited by Cartera on Sunday 18th of December 2011 10:39:09 PM

hope · Guru

Which does not address the potentially harmful effects of powerful bc drugs on very young teens. To equate the questioning of the need/safety of this with a disbelief in "science" is laughable. It should be the other way around.

My son has a clotting disease. I fail to see the relevance.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Childbirth - whether natural or C-Section, is far more dangerous than the pill, or even Plan B.

So are abortions.

Blood clots can be serious. They can even kill you. One of those nasty buggers killed my mom when she wasn't very old. She wasn't on the Pill. She had a previous medical condition that caused this and she never recovered.

hope · Guru

I can't understand why women are so willing to offer themselves (and apparently their daughters) as guinea pigs. Anyone remember the IUD's of the seventies? How about their neglecting to tell us that using the pill if one was a smoker could cause clots? How about pushing hormones on us which we now find could have devastating effects? All for the sake of "science." lol. Here's a creepy story:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/e_puertorico.html

longprime · Guru

It is however not an unreasonable decision that he made considering all the opinions. He punted.

Cartera · Guru

I was very disappointed in this decision. The President promised to follow the science and he followed something else on this one. I didn't appreciate him bringing his daughters into the discussion either. They are irrelevant and he shouldn't have considered this as a father.

-- Edited by Cartera on Sunday 18th of December 2011 02:57:32 PM

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

I don't think any medication, whether it is OTC or a prescription or even a street drug, is ever completely 100% safe for everyone, without side effects or possibly complications. Some people can't take a Tylenol, others can be addicted to prescription drugs or illicit drugs.

The side effects from taking too much of the hormone in the Plan B would not be very much fun for a few days. Any woman who has ever been on the Pill will likely tell you if she missed a dose and took it off schedule would notice the side effects.

Some women may even have longer lasting issues than discomfort after ingesting a large amount of this hormone.

It's not a cheap method of birth control. After doing some googling, I found out it is about $50 for the dose. Cheaper than having a baby or an abortion, true.

There will always be teens and women who use abortion as birth control, too.

I think what gets me is that the Democratic Party runs on a pro-choice platform - and when a product that could cut down on unwanted pregnancies - that is, before conception - is actually available...they say no, it's not okay for those under 17. This isn't a GOP administration that banned this to women under 17, either.

Yet...abortions can be obtained without a parent's consent for girls well under 17 in many, many states. The Dems have always called for reproductive freedom for women and love, love to bash the GOP on their reproductive platform.

Having been one of those women who have had babies while on birth control, it wouldn't have done me much good. But I know plenty of women over the years that would have liked to have this choice available to them.

busdriver11 · Guru

I don't know about this one. I tend to support reproductive freedom at all ages, because I know even when I was very young I wasn't interested in discussing birth control methods with my parents.

But really, "Long-standing scientific and medical evidence has shown that emergency contraception is safe and effective for women of all ages, including teens."
Is that true? Sounds like it's just as safe as a multi-vitamin pill, and that I don't believe. It was my understanding that plan B was basically taking 5 birth control pills, at one time (certain brands only), but now some have combined it into one pill. Even as an adult, I'd be awfully uncomfortable doing that. The birth control pill has all sorts of risks, and you need to be aware of them. Taking mega doses of the pill as a young teen is very concerning. And I guarantee you if kids had easy access to this, they would use this as birth control methods, not as emergency contraception. If there's anyone out here who has daughters in their early teens (though if I did, I am certain they would not be having sex---as if I could control that!)....would you want your kid taking mega doses of the pill, with no awareness or medical monitoring, any time and often?

Sure, it's safer than pregnancy. But is it safe to use as a birth control method? I just don't buy that they've done long standing studies on young teens.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Wouldn't it make sense for a teen - or woman of any age - to be able to prevent a pregnancy after unplanned sex or contraceptive failure, rather than sweat it out, wait weeks and then have to make the agonizing decision whether to keep or terminate a pregnancy?

This makes absolutely no sense to me. Whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, or somewhere in between, this decision is illogical.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Is anyone else confused by WHY the Obama Administration has done this?

Obama Administration Overrules FDA Approval of Plan B One-Step

Modified: 12/07/2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 7, 2011

Contact: Tara Sweeney, 917-488-0094

Obama Administration Overrules FDA Approval of Plan B One-Step for Over-the-Counter Sale for Women of All Ages

NARAL Pro-Choice New York Calls Decision “Deeply Disappointing Betrayal”

NEW YORK—Today the FDA announced the Secretary of Health and Human Services – for the first time ever – has invoked her authority to overrule the agency’s decision to approve the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B One-Step for full over-the-counter sale, which would have removed what was widely recognized to be a politically motivated age restriction on its access. This is the first time in history the Health Secretary has ever used this power to overrule an FDA decision. Had the FDA decision gone into effect, women of all ages would have been able to purchase this back-up birth control method without a prescription and without delays at the pharmacy counter.

“This is a deeply disappointing betrayal from an Administration that had pledged to promote the health and well-being of women and families and be guided by science and medicine,” said Andrea Miller, President of NARAL Pro-Choice New York. “The evidence is clear, the FDA has done more than its due diligence, and women across the nation deserve ready access to a safe, effective second chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy. The decision to overrule the FDA is reminiscent of a troubling era, when the Bush Administration routinely allowed politics to trump science, especially in its interference with the FDA’s deliberations over this product.”

The FDA first approved Plan B as a prescription product in 1999. Seven years later, in 2006, the FDA approved over-the-counter access to Plan B for those eighteen and older – an age restriction later deemed by the Government Accountability Office and federal courts to be politically, not scientifically, motivated. In response, the age restriction on the over-the-counter product was lowered to seventeen the following year.

Because of the resulting “dual-label” status, emergency contraception has been stocked behind the pharmacy counter, creating significant hurdles for anyone needing timely access. Even women seventeen and older, who were eligible for over-the-counter access, have had to produce a government-issued ID to prove their age before buying the product. Having Plan B One-Step available on the pharmacy shelves would have finally removed those barriers.

Long-standing scientific and medical evidence has shown that emergency contraception is safe and effective for women of all ages, including teens. “It’s not easy to think about teens having sex, but if they are, it’s our responsibility to ensure they have timely access to all their options to reduce the chance of an unintended pregnancy,” Miller said. “Especially here in New York City, where some neighborhoods have teen pregnancy rates that are among the highest in the nation, we should be working together to ensure that young women have the knowledge and ability to prevent an unintended pregnancy – including after sex.”