Top Stories of 2004: Pro-Lifers, Pro-Family Groups Hail FDA Decision Rejecting OTC Morning-After Pill
by Jenni Parker
December 22, 2004
(AgapePress) - Pro-family groups are praising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its refusal to approve the emergency contraception product known as Plan B or "the morning-after pill" for sale over the counter.For months the FDA has mulled over the possibility of clearing the way for emergency contraception to be placed on pharmacy shelves, readily available to women and young girls without a prescription. But now the agency has announced that it is rejecting that possibility for now and has issued a "Not Approvable" letter to the sponsor of the application to make Plan B contraception an over-the-counter, or OTC, product.
The decision came months after an advisory panel endorsed the idea of OTC distribution of the high-dosage hormone regimen purported to "prevent" pregnancy after unprotected sex. That recommendation encouraged Plan B proponents to hope that FDA approval of its OTC status was likely to follow, despite questions about health risks to women and ethical concerns raised by pro-family advocates. However, the agency rejected the application, saying it had inadequate data to rule out concerns about the health risks involved with the drug regimen.
Wendy Wright | |
Concerned Women for America praised the federal agency for its choice. Wendy Right, CWA's senior policy director, says the FDA is "right to be cautious about making a potent drug that can harm women available next to candy bars and toothpaste," and adds that the CWA is "very grateful that the FDA put concern for women's health over political pressure."The Many Dangers of Morning-After Medication
The pro-family group recognizes that the risks involved with emergency contraception drugs are not restricted to their effect on the female body. Child-safety advocates feel the FDA should also consider the risk of sexual assault or abuse when weighing any further Plan B petition. A Population Council official was quoted in the Bangkok Post as stating that men are the most frequent buyers of the morning-after pill, and some of the women they give it to do not know what they are taking.
And in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Joycelyn Elders advised that the possibility of sexual abuse be routinely considered whenever adolescent female patients have initiated sexual activity. Plan B opponents fear that the rush to control "pregnancy outcomes" could pre-empt efforts to determine whether a young girl has been sexually abused.
CWA's Wright describes the morning-after pill as "the pedophile's best friend." She says its proponents treat women like "sex machines" whose health or life is a price they are willingly prepared to pay "to make sure she doesn't breed."
Plan B's Pro-Abortion Connection
The Family Foundation of Virginia is another pro-family group that is applauding the FDA's recent action. In a May 7 statement, Victoria Cobb, the foundation's director of legislative affairs, noted that her group has been arguing for years that no conclusive scientific studies have been done to prove that repeated use of the morning-after pill is safe. She says abortion advocates have used the advisory panel's endorsement to ridicule those who warn about the possible health risks of repeatedly using the drugs after risky behavior.
At the same time, Cobb contends that Plan B's promoters have done an effective job of redefining the terms associated with emergency contraception, even as they try to get legislation passed defining it as non-abortive. In other words, pro-abortion advocates of emergency contraception have used language to push the idea that it is contraceptive (preventive of pregnancy) rather than abortifacient (deadly to an unborn child).
For example, Cobb notes, while medical literature defines pregnancy as beginning at fertilization, promoters of the morning-after pill have redefined it as beginning at implantation. Therefore, drugs that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting are recognized by pro-life advocates as abortifacient, while pro-abortion forces argue that these drugs are not abortion-causing at all.
The truth is that Plan B, which contains high levels of the same substances used in birth-control medication, can work by preventing ovulation and fertilization. But it can also work by irritating the lining of the uterus so as to prevent implantation -- in effect making the womb "inhospitable" to the unborn child. The immediate effect, obviously, is the death of an unborn baby; the long-term effects of repeated use of these drugs on women and young girls has yet to be thoroughly studied.
"Women's health should not be sacrificed so that pro-abortion advocates can accomplish their agenda," Cobb says. "The FDA's decision is scientifically based and simply the right action for women and young girls." The Family Foundation spokeswoman hopes those who promote the morning-after pill will take heed to the FDA's action and start putting the health and safety of women first.
