Obama Backs Limit on Morning-After Pill for Young Teenagers
Washington— President Obama, noting that he was the father of two daughters, threw his wholehearted support on Thursday behind a decision by his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, not to allow emergency contraceptives to be sold over the counter, including to young teenagers.
The drug’s manufacturer, Teva Pharmaceuticals had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow merchandisers to place the morning after pill on shelves with other family-planning products, and to sell it to anyone who wanted it. The manufacturer claimed that it had conducted a study, which revealed that girls as young as 12 could understand how to safely use the product.
The Plan-B One-Step is an after-the-fact contraceptive, which, if taken within 72 hours of sex can prevent pregnancy by limiting ovulation or blocking the implantation of the fertilized egg. It is currently available in the US to women ages 17 or older without a doctor’s prescription.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries asked the Food and Drug Administration to also make the drug available to those 16 and younger without a prescription. The FDA agreed; in a statement released December 7, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, said "there is adequate and reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of childbearing potential.
Teva’s morning after pill comes with a $50 price tag; thus, many young girls would lack the funds to purchase it. In addition, if they did acquire the funds, it is doubtful that they would spend it on a contraceptive tablet unless they really needed it. Most 11-year-old girls who have $50 in their purse would choose to spend it on a wide variety of “fun things”, not a morning after pill.
After the FDA agreed, Sebelius rejected that recommendation. She claimed that “there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences” between older teenage girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age and that there isn’t enough evidence that those girls wouldn’t be harmed by taking the pill.
Obama said he "did not get involved in the process," but endorsed the health secretary's rejection of the agency's effort to allow girls under 17 to get the pill without a prescription. "As the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine," Obama said. He cited concerns that the medication, "if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect. And I think most parents would probably feel the same way.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) avoided criticizing President Obama or Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for the decision to overrule federal regulators and limit access to the morning-after pill. At a Thursday news conference, Pelosi said science should guide the decision about whether to make Plan B available without a prescription to girls younger than 17. But she did not criticize Sebelius for overruling scientists at the FDA to block wider access to Plan B.
Sources:
NYTimes.com
emaxhealth
newser
Periscope Post
Population..
Kaiser Health News
Stuff.co.nz
Worldnews.com
Topsy.com
TheWallStreetJournal
WSJ.com
POLITICO.com
Bloomberg
Washington— President Obama, noting that he was the father of two daughters, threw his wholehearted support on Thursday behind a decision by his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, not to allow emergency contraceptives to be sold over the counter, including to young teenagers.
The drug’s manufacturer, Teva Pharmaceuticals had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow merchandisers to place the morning after pill on shelves with other family-planning products, and to sell it to anyone who wanted it. The manufacturer claimed that it had conducted a study, which revealed that girls as young as 12 could understand how to safely use the product.
The Plan-B One-Step is an after-the-fact contraceptive, which, if taken within 72 hours of sex can prevent pregnancy by limiting ovulation or blocking the implantation of the fertilized egg. It is currently available in the US to women ages 17 or older without a doctor’s prescription.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries asked the Food and Drug Administration to also make the drug available to those 16 and younger without a prescription. The FDA agreed; in a statement released December 7, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, said "there is adequate and reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of childbearing potential.
Teva’s morning after pill comes with a $50 price tag; thus, many young girls would lack the funds to purchase it. In addition, if they did acquire the funds, it is doubtful that they would spend it on a contraceptive tablet unless they really needed it. Most 11-year-old girls who have $50 in their purse would choose to spend it on a wide variety of “fun things”, not a morning after pill.
After the FDA agreed, Sebelius rejected that recommendation. She claimed that “there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences” between older teenage girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age and that there isn’t enough evidence that those girls wouldn’t be harmed by taking the pill.
Obama said he "did not get involved in the process," but endorsed the health secretary's rejection of the agency's effort to allow girls under 17 to get the pill without a prescription. "As the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine," Obama said. He cited concerns that the medication, "if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect. And I think most parents would probably feel the same way.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) avoided criticizing President Obama or Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for the decision to overrule federal regulators and limit access to the morning-after pill. At a Thursday news conference, Pelosi said science should guide the decision about whether to make Plan B available without a prescription to girls younger than 17. But she did not criticize Sebelius for overruling scientists at the FDA to block wider access to Plan B.
Sources:
NYTimes.com
emaxhealth
newser
Periscope Post
Population..
Kaiser Health News
Stuff.co.nz
Worldnews.com
Topsy.com
TheWallStreetJournal
WSJ.com
POLITICO.com
Bloomberg
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