The FDA recently approved over-the-counter sales of Plan B, commonly known as the morning-after pill
to women 18 and older. The decision is long overdue and marks a significant milestone in the advancement of women's health. Last year, the FDA turned down a similar proposal that would have made the emergency contraceptive available to those older than 16. According to a Washington Post article, the ruling was handed down despite the urgings of an advisory panel of medical experts, who claimed its non-prescription sale would help decrease unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The FDA's decision was based on a lack of data about the risks of adolescent use of the drug, but the agency's chief of women's health resigned soon after, claiming the decision had been purely political. This should not be a political issue, but one of common sense. Though religious conservatives have railed against its use, Plan B does not constitute an abortion. In fact, much of its appeal is that it actually prevents the need for an abortion ' especially dangerous private ones. If enough time lapses after unprotected sex and a pregnancy actually occurs, Plan B's use has no effect. Therefore, it is completely erroneous to lump this issue into the abortion debate. Another criticism of the pill's sale is that its availability will encourage promiscuity among young people, but this is short sighted as well. Teenagers who want to have sex are likely to do so regardless of the availability of Plan B, which remains a prescription-only drug for minors anyway. The drug's effective prevention of unwanted pregnancies should overshadow any such worries. It will only make sex safer for those who will do it anyway. Opposition to the pill's over-the-counter sale is strong in some corners, highlighted by the refusal of Wal-Mart ' the largest retail chain in the world ' to carry it on the store's shelves. As such a large corporation and, especially in more remote corners of America, one of the few places to access these drugs, it is despicable that Wal-Mart places its own conservative moral tendencies above health and safety for its customers. It unfairly discriminates against women as well, since the behemoth has no such problem with selling condoms to teenage boys. 17
Archives
Controversy surrounding G
