‘Morning-after pill’ advocates take their case to Obama’s science adviser
Advocates for unfettered access to the morning-after pill Plan B One-Step took their case to President Obamas chief science adviser Friday, asking him to find out the basis for the administrations controversial decision last month to continue requiring that young girls get the drug only by prescription.
In brief presentations wedged into a meeting of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, five experts decried Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebeliuss rejection of the Food and Drug Administrations move to make Plan B available completely over the counter.
We are asking you to work with us . . . to readdress this decision, find out how it was made and why, Wayne C. Shields told John P. Holdren, the chairman of the council. Shields is president of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, a trade organization with offices in Washington.
In her allotted two minutes of public comment, Francesca T. Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists quoted the HHS secretarys Dec. 7 letter that rejected FDAs plan to make Plan B available to girls younger than 17 without a prescription.
full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/morning-after-pill-advocates-take-their-case-to-obamas-science-adviser/2012/01/06/gIQAigY8gP_story.html
uppityperson
(115,674 posts)CTyankee
(63,708 posts)We in the progressive community will get NOWHERE hiding from what we (may mistakenly) believe is politically OK. We must be BOLD. Put our demands on the record. Step up. Speak out.
We would do well to take a lesson from the gay rights movement! Why the hell don't we?
GusFring
(756 posts)Why do people want underage girls being able to access this w/o their parents knowing? ANd that's exactly what would happen.
alp227
(31,943 posts)Second, do you really think most conscious, thinking girls under the age of consent really are thinking of having sex? And look at the consequences of abstinence only education. Obviously teen pregnancy hasn't been stemmed.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)by someone. If not a parent then a medical professional.
Suppose she's got an ectopic pregnancy? She never goes to a doctor or clinic but takes a home test, finds it positive and then just goes ahead and takes the over the counter pill?
CTyankee
(63,708 posts)This is pure politics because it is an election year. I am certain that this was "focus grouped" and found to be unpopular with ordinary folks. However, the FDA should not be guided in their medical decisions in the field of public health, by what the polled masses have to say about it.
I have 3 granddaughters and I would want them to have Plan B available to them. I would have said the same when my daughters were under age 17...
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)That means no trip to a doctor for an exam.
What happens if its an ectopic pregnancy?
This is about children and the need for medical supervision.
Allowing children access without requiring some sort of oversight by a responsible, qualified professional is never going to happen.
CTyankee
(63,708 posts)And I have known of an ectopic pregnancy where the parents of the teen didn't know. That is a problem of communication, for sure.
I am not sure, though, that what was envisioned was not without some oversight, such as the dispensing pharmacist. At least that was my understanding of what was actually being proposed.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)alp227
(31,943 posts)Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)alp227
(31,943 posts)"nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, dizziness, breast tenderness, tiredness and weakness, headache, menstrual changes, and diarrhea." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levonorgestrel#Side_effects)
see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_contraception#Side_effects
It is debatable whether women really died because of birth control.
cstanleytech
(26,027 posts)from http://www.drugs.com/sfx/levonorgestrel-side-effects.html
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); absent menstrual period; breast discharge; breast lumps; calf or leg pain, swelling, or tenderness; change in amount of urine produced; chest pain or heaviness; confusion; coughing of blood; dark urine; fainting; mental or mood changes (eg, depression); migraines; numbness of an arm or leg; one-sided weakness; pale stools; persistent, severe, or recurring headache or dizziness; persistent vaginal spotting; severe pain or tenderness in the stomach; shortness of breath; slurred speech; sudden severe headache or vomiting; swelling of the fingers, hands, legs, or ankles; unusual or severe vaginal bleeding; unusual tiredness or weakness; vaginal irritation, discharge, or change in secretions; vision changes (eg, sudden vision loss, double vision); yellowing of the skin or eyes (with or without fever).
To bad though because if was as safe as a condom (unless of course you are allergic to latex) then it probably would have gotten an ok to be sold to those under 17.
GusFring
(756 posts)boppers
(16,588 posts)Nor would she?
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)continue? Or maybe Daddy will just magically stop raping her.
And btw, suppose pregnant 16 year old takes a home test to find out she's pregnant, takes the pill but the pregnancy is ectopic? Because of your warped reasoning she can end up in the emergency room when the tube finally erupts.
boppers
(16,588 posts)Not sure what you think my reasoning is, I merely posited a possible consequence.