07
Dec
In matters of women’s health, has politics trumped science?
In a surprise move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves, deciding Wednesday that young girls shouldn’t be able to buy it on their own.
The Food and Drug Administration was preparing to make Plan B One-Step the nation’s first over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, available for purchase by people of any age without a prescription.
Plan B instead will remain behind the pharmacy counter, as it is sold today — available without a prescription only for those 17 and older who show an ID proving their age.
Sebelius’ reason: Some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of bearing children, and Plan B’s maker didn’t prove that younger girls could properly understand how to use this product without guidance from an adult.
Should young girls be required to obtain a prescription in the 72 hours allotted before the pill becomes ineffective?
Courtesy of the New York Times.
