The debate over abortion and emergency contraception continues. The latest in the debate is a judge’s order to make morning-after pills available over-the-counter for all age groups, even for girls younger than age 16. The morning after pill, commonly known as Plan B, helps to prevent pregnancy after sexual intercourse.
The ease of availability of Plan B had been a problem for many women. The drug was often kept in the pharmacy section of stores, which usually closes earlier than other sections in a store.
The drug was also less accessible even while the store was open. Being behind-the-counter required a consumer to request the drug from a pharmacist or another pharmacy store worker in order to purchase the drug.
However, making Plan B available over-the-counter for women over 17, is a far cry from making the drug available to women and young women of all age levels.
Judge Edward R. Korman of the Eastern District of New York ruled against the Obama administration’s previous judgment to lift age restrictions of consumption of the drug.
Questions linger after the ruling: Is Plan B a health risk for girls as young as 13 or even 10? Would women of these ages be able to administer the drug correctly and in the way it was intended to be consumed? Is it safe for young women to consume the drug?
It is likely unethical to test the drug on teenage and below teenage women. Consequently, the effects of Plan B and related medicines on young women-whether the drug has similar reactions in fully developed adult bodies compared to still developing young adult bodies-is unknown.
However, some scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and the American Medical Association say that for young women, pregnancy carries greater safety risks than the morning after pill.
Others see more risk to having the drug available to young women:
(1) Teens would be force-fed the pill against their will, or
(2) They would opt for Plan B instead of seeing a doctor and being screened for sexually transmitted infections that may also come as a result of unprotected sex. Failure to see a doctor could cause infections to go undiagnosed and/or untreated.
Opponents also wonder whether allowing or even suggesting that young women should use the drug is promoting sexual activity at young ages.
Whether these arguments pose valid concerns or mere urban legends is a matter opinion or political leaning. But the debate is worth weighing in: can a pregnancy prevention drug like Plan B and its generic versions really be treated the same as other over-the-counter medicines?
The ruling and its effects become a global concern when we understand that the drug’s manufacturer, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and other drug companies’ main objectives, far above treating patients, is to make money. In this case, Teva Pharmaceuticals filed a motion (which was denied) to make their Plan B drug the exclusive emergency contraceptive drug in the market.
A global market beyond the boundaries of the U.S. will make for an attractive consumer base for a drug that prevents pregnancy within a few days of sexual intercourse.
The availability of Plan B to all women is as much a youth issue as it is a women’s reproductive health issue.
Understanding whether these rulings help or hurt our children will give us insight on how to proceed as reproductive issues such as abortion and contraception once again take center stage in a global arena.
As for this, we must reconsider. Perhaps not everything is good for the gander.