'Morning-after' pill available to minors without rx

[WarriorAngel]

‘Morning-after’ pill available to minors - Washington Times

*The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that the “morning-after” birth-control pill now will be available to teenage girls as young as 17 without a prescription, saying it won’t appeal a federal court order that overturned a Bush administration-era policy. *
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman last month ruled in a New York lawsuit that Bush administration appointees had let politics, not science, drive their decision to allow over-the-counter access to the pills only for women 18 and older. Judge Korman ordered the agency to let 17-year-olds get the medication without a doctor’s prescription, and to evaluate whether all age restrictions should be lifted.

I wonder how many young girls are going to be injured or die because of this?

Dangers of the Morning After Pill

Is Emergency Contraception Safe? - Morning After Pill

 

[Fitz]

I think that definitely there will be complications and possible deaths due to this. What I doubt is that the press will report it. The press is in the tank for the current administration and they go to all lengths to protect them. I know they don’t care about babies being aborted, but I also doubt they care about a few teenage moms that have complications.

 

[lizaanne]

The good ol’ USofA — making it easier for teens to have sex without consequences.

I love my country, but I truly fear my government…more and more every day.

~Liza

 

[saskatoon]

How wonderful, another fruit of our school’s sex education at work!! First, they promote “safe sex” by handing out condoms so the kids don’t have to be embarrassed if they purchase them. Now kids can have sex without a condom and just take a pill! Wonderful! How is it kids (in most cases) are not old enough to drive, have a job, or vote, and doctors can’t treat kids w/o parent’s consent but they are old enough to make adult decisions that will profoundly change their lives without parent’s consent? Now with the morning after pill, girls can have the nagging voice of “what if I was pregnant” for the rest of their lives. Society must have a low opinion of women if we are allowing them to have abortions and live with that ghost for the rest of their lives. All of this news makes me happy I’m not a teenager. My teen years were soooo much easier!

:manvspc:

 

[spectrm]

I recently read a great book by a prominent Christian philosopher (God’s Politics by Jim Wallis).

The solution to the underage sex problem has been, and always will be, education. Abstinence instruction doesn’t work with drugs, violence, or sex. In fact, abstinence and prohibition has never worked in the history of mankind. To assume that it will work in this case is preposterous in light of history.

For one, the induced injuries from PlanB are largely overstated. The pill does nothing but hormonally induce a menstrual cycle. More than 9/10 times, the egg hasn’t even been fertilized, let alone embedded in the uterus. There is often a period of nausea (as would happen with any large hormonal change). Injury USUALLY occurs when PlanB isn’t available, so the woman pops 2 or 3 birth-control pills instead.

There are important privacy issues that lead to PlanB being over the counter. I agree that some system needs to be put in place to control frequency of use - it’s unsafe to use PlanB more than once every two months.

But the reality is that underage sex occurred before “the pill” and before PlanB. And it will occur afterwards. Our best bet as a society is to teach responsibility, personal accountability, and risk minimization.

We also have a generation of parents that has been severely broken, leading to children who are even more broken.

 

[WarriorAngel]

I thought the morning after pill was for the morning after you discover you are pregnant.
So i dont think they have to guess if they are pregnant at that point.

Truly this world is morally bankrupt.

 

[Elizabeth502]

I thought the morning after pill was for the morning after you discover you are pregnant.

No. It’s for the morning after unprotected sex, or when barrier methods fail, when you fear you could become pregnant, particularly if you know you are at a fertile time in your cycle. Lots of women take them when they only suspect, and have not even done a home pregnancy test.

 

[doubtingdaniel]

‘Morning-after’ pill available to minors - Washington Times

*The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that the “morning-after” birth-control pill now will be available to teenage girls as young as 17 without a prescription, saying it won’t appeal a federal court order that overturned a Bush administration-era policy. *
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman last month ruled in a New York lawsuit that Bush administration appointees had let politics, not science, drive their decision to allow over-the-counter access to the pills only for women 18 and older. Judge Korman ordered the agency to let 17-year-olds get the medication without a doctor’s prescription, and to evaluate whether all age restrictions should be lifted.

I wonder how many young girls are going to be injured or die because of this?

Dangers of the Morning After Pill

Is Emergency Contraception Safe? - Morning After Pill

The morning after pill, or Mifeprex, is a “safe” drug that has been approved by the FDA. Yes the morning after pill does have minor and possible major complications but so does any other prescription drug. There have been four reported deaths possibly caused by the morning after pill since the year 2000. Doctors have identified a bacterium called Clostridium sordelli in two of the four deaths from infection and suspects it is the cause of the other two. The bacterium is a common germ not usually associated with illness. It is unclear what may have caused the bacteria to become deadly in these women. The infection is rare and only infects 1 out of 100,000 women who take the pill. The FDA also said the four deaths occurred among women who were treated at clinics that didn’t follow FDA-approved instructions for the two-pill regimen.

The morningafterpill.org website you refer to has been purposely constructed to mislead women from the truth about the morning after pill. The website is a Catholic sponsored biased propaganda meant to label women who take the Abortion-Pill as immoral and those who take are surely to get ill. A quote from their mission statement: “The American Life League exists to serve God by helping to build a society that respects and protects individual innocent human beings from creation to natural death—without compromise, without exception, without apology. The distinguishing mark of American Life League, by which we will be recognized, is our absolute commitment to the sacredness of every innocent human being’s life.” It is a ludicrous notion that a fetus is equivalent to that of a human being and that this precept is a belief centered to Christianity. They don’t consider the woman’s physical and or mental health, financial or living situation, future education or employment, her age, if it was consensual sex, or even her choice to decide for herself what may or may not have even been conceived yet.

If conception, or “creation”, is consider to be at the moment of fertilization then it does not occur until usually 2-3 days after sex. Taking the morning after pill usually does not kill the fetus because the sperm has not even reached the egg yet. Even if the fertilization has occurred then there’s still a 35% chance the pregnancy will result in miscarriage which could result in more complications than taking the pill. Studies have shown that unwanted or unplanned children are 30-33% more likely to commit crime also. For all the women reading this who may of had unprotected sexual intercourse recently and are wondering what to do, know that the “morning after pill”* is* an option. Below are links for Planned Parenthood where you can find information if your considering the pill or if your considering pregnancy. I highly encourage you take a look at their page so you can know your options. In the end it is always your decision and you have to do what is best for you.

Think About It.

Planned Parenthood: The Morning After Pill
plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/abortion-pill-medication-abortion-4354.htm

Planned Parenthood: Considering Pregnancy
plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/pregnancy/considering-pregnancy-4350.htm

FDA’s Latest Mifeprex Drug Trial, Review, and Safety Procedures:
fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2005/020687s013lbl.pdf

San Francisco News, New Abortion-Pill Deaths Investigation Article:
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/20/MNG8CDQJRB1.DTL

Harvard’s Abortion and Crime Review
hcs.harvard.edu/hcer/?p=41

 

[Bobby_Jim]

It is a ludicrous notion that a fetus is equivalent to that of a human being and that this precept is a belief centered to Christianity. They don’t consider the woman’s physical and or mental health, financial or living situation, future education or employment, her age, if it was consensual sex, or even her choice to decide for herself what may or may not have even been conceived yet.

Grammatical awkwardness aside…

If a fetus isn’t a human being, what is it? A chimp? A cucumber? A fluffy teddy bear?

And does it matter to the fetus whether his/her mom has a job or an education or any money? Well not really - nothing much matters except staying nice and safe and warm and cozy. But even after a child is born - they don’t particularly care about such things. The intrinsic value of a child has nothing to do with how well off or well educated the mother is. The flaw here is thinking that the woman is the only individual affected.

And this is not a belief that is specific to Christianity at all. It’s common sense. Or part of the “natural law” if you want to use an old-fashioned term. Unfortunately common sense isn’t so common these days. Natural law doesn’t come naturally to some people.

 

[Dale_M]

Planned Parenthood: The Morning After Pill
plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/abortion-pill-medication-abortion-4354.htm

Planned Parenthood: Considering Pregnancy
plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/pregnancy/considering-pregnancy-4350.htm

Hi Daniel,

I think you are correct that the morningafterpill.org site is not neutral and comes with an agenda, but many (if not most) members of CAF think the same of Planned Parenthood. You are new here, so I will tell you: for persons who believe abortion is murder, Planned Parenthood is a mass-murderer. Pro-lifers will honestly make the comparison of PP with Nazis, and legalized abortion with the Holocaust. This may seem like a real stretch to you, but please realize that a great many people here believe what the Catholic Church teaches… abortion is the murder of a human being. Any one aiding in an abortion is complicit in murder.

I think you will win more people over to your side if you find evidence by those who are not in the abortion business.

FDA’s Latest Mifeprex Drug Trial, Review, and Safety Procedures:
fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2005/020687s013lbl.pdf

There’s one!

San Francisco News, New Abortion-Pill Deaths Investigation Article:
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/20/MNG8CDQJRB1.DTL

Hmmm… so a person has a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying from this drug? That doesn’t sound so routine to me, but perhaps it needs to be compared to the risks from other drugs or procedures.

Harvard’s Abortion and Crime Review
hcs.harvard.edu/hcer/?p=41

I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. The availability of legal abortion increases crime because it encourages extra-marital sex. Doesn’t the availability of this drug do the same thing?

 

[spectrm]

Hi Daniel,
I think you are correct that the morningafterpill.org site is not neutral and comes with an agenda, but many (if not most) members of CAF think the same of Planned Parenthood. You are new here, so I will tell you: for persons who believe abortion is murder, Planned Parenthood is a mass-murderer. Pro-lifers will honestly make the comparison of PP with Nazis, and legalized abortion with the Holocaust. This may seem like a real stretch to you, but please realize that a great many people here believe what the Catholic Church teaches… abortion is the murder of a human being. Any one aiding in an abortion is complicit in murder.

I think you will win more people over to your side if you find evidence by those who are not in the abortion business.

That’s understood, but Planned Parenthood doesn’t only operate abortion services. They also offer free/subsidized obstetrics care, free/subsidized fertility counseling, and many other things related to ‘Parenthood’. They are not just ‘abortion clinics’, they are ‘conception counseling clinics’. One’s character should be judged by ALL their works, not just the one’s some would like to nit-pick.

Hmmm… so a person has a 1 in 100,000 chance of dying from this drug? That doesn’t sound so routine to me, but perhaps it needs to be compared to the risks from other drugs or procedures.

indeed - viagra has about the same number. Many anti-depressants the number is even worse. Just look up the effects of Prozac and the long-term clinical studies on the drug (and by long term, of course, I mean the last 8-12 years). It should also be noted, however, that more statistics are assembled for things like PlanB and birth-control because of the controversy they sparked - other ‘normal’ prescription drugs may be less lethal but more damaging in more cases. Besides that, PlanB is also very new (about 4-5 years) and, as will all prescription drugs, some tweaking is necessary to maximize safety.

I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. The availability of legal abortion increases crime because it encourages extra-marital sex. Doesn’t the availability of this drug do the same thing?

Where I live, extra-marital sex isn’t a crime. In fact, I wouldn’t live anywhere that the government felt the right to dictate what I can do in my own bedroom. And legal abortion and PlanB doesn’t encourage extra-marital (I assume you actually mean pre-marital) sex. That’s all rhetoric from Catholic and other evangelical think-tanks. Extra-marital sex happens no matter what, in (from what nearly every anthropologist tells us) the same ratio of guitly:non-guilty all over the world and, as best we can tell, for as long as humans have existed. Legal abortion, PlanB, birth-control and the like serve to un-tabooize the behavior so that a serious effort to deal with it’s health effects can be put forward.

The problem of having the PlanB discussion is that I know some Catholics who actually view the use of ortho-tricycline as abortion.

 

[spectrm]

Grammatical awkwardness aside…

If a fetus isn’t a human being, what is it? A chimp? A cucumber? A fluffy teddy bear?

And does it matter to the fetus whether his/her mom has a job or an education or any money? Well not really - nothing much matters except staying nice and safe and warm and cozy. But even after a child is born - they don’t particularly care about such things. The intrinsic value of a child has nothing to do with how well off or well educated the mother is. The flaw here is thinking that the woman is the only individual affected.

And this is not a belief that is specific to Christianity at all. It’s common sense. Or part of the “natural law” if you want to use an old-fashioned term. Unfortunately common sense isn’t so common these days. Natural law doesn’t come naturally to some people.

It’s a fetus…it has no legal rights as determined by the law. Erect all the strawmen you like, it’s a legal issue and the definition of ‘human being’ is still gray for legal reasons. Should a person who rear-ends someone (who happens to be pregnant) be charge with negligent homicide if the woman then miscarries? Should the mother be charged with negligent homicide if her body naturally miscarries (as her body actually releases a hormone to terminate the pregnancy when it detects an abnormality like mismatched blood types)?

“Natural Law” says your progeny are yours to do with as you wish until they are big and strong enough to fend for themselves. Infanticide is common in all other species and fairly common in humans, so I find your definition of ‘common sense’ rather ‘uncommon’.

 

[Fitz]

I know that the athiests think Planned Parenthood is a gift to women and society, but as Christians we know that life begins at conception. We also know that Planned Parenthood fights to keep abortions readily available to women of all ages, even underage girls. What a scourge on our society, not a gift!

 

[spectrm]

I know that the athiests think Planned Parenthood is a gift to women and society, but as Christians we know that life begins at conception. We also know that Planned Parenthood fights to keep abortions readily available to women of all ages, even underage girls. What a scourge on our society, not a gift!

Well - this thread is about PlanB - not Planned Parenthood - but it’s digressed that way.

Services are offered to underage girls (youngest is 15 in some states I believe) because the state recognizes that the beliefs of the parents may not be the beliefs of the children. Children have rights, too - independent of their parents. Your concept that life begins at conception is still well disputed, but even at that, PlanB doesn’t apply to the type of life you’re talking about.

People who see fit to impose their beliefs on others in the form of violence and laws are the true scourge. Planned Parenthood merely offers a safe place to receive a legitimate (read: in accordance with the law) service to people who wish to use it. And again, they don’t only do abortion services. The majority of their patients aren’t having abortions. They’re seeking free pregnancy and family counseling.

 

[mlchance]

So, in response to the question that if a human fetus isn’t human, what is it, you respond with:

It’s a fetus…

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[spectrm]

So, in response to the question that if a human fetus isn’t human, what is it, you respond with:



– Mark L. Chance.

Yes - by definition, it’s a fetus. And it is clearly of the homo sapiens sapien variety. My point is you’re ignoring the legal implications of determining a fetus ‘human’. There’s more to these social decisions than mere ideology.

 

[Dale_M]

That’s understood, but Planned Parenthood doesn’t only operate abortion services. They also offer free/subsidized obstetrics care, free/subsidized fertility counseling, and many other things related to ‘Parenthood’. They are not just ‘abortion clinics’, they are ‘conception counseling clinics’. One’s character should be judged by ALL their works, not just the one’s some would like to nit-pick.

Hi Spectrm,

I pretty much agreed with your viewpoint when I arrived at CAF. It is, after all, the mainstream view. But remember, folks here at CAF believe that abortion is murder. To put Planned Parenthood into this perspective, let’s say we have a doctor who provides all kinds of service to the community: free medical care to the poor, makes housecalls to the elderly, volunteers at the women’s shelter etc, but every weekend he murders someone. Are you saying we should ignore the murders because the doc is a really nice guy?

If you believe that abortion is murder (and in some cases I do), then condemning Planned Parenthood for providing abortions is not nitpicking.

indeed - viagra has about the same number. Many anti-depressants the number is even worse. Just look up the effects of Prozac and the long-term clinical studies on the drug (and by long term, of course, I mean the last 8-12 years). It should also be noted, however, that more statistics are assembled for things like PlanB and birth-control because of the controversy they sparked - other ‘normal’ prescription drugs may be less lethal but more damaging in more cases. Besides that, PlanB is also very new (about 4-5 years) and, as will all prescription drugs, some tweaking is necessary to maximize safety.

I think that statistic is a good reason not to take Viagra!
Yes, anti-depressants bring dangers, but they prevent a greater danger. I am not sure the same can be said about Plan B and Viagra.

Where I live, extra-marital sex isn’t a crime. In fact, I wouldn’t live anywhere that the government felt the right to dictate what I can do in my own bedroom.

It wasn’t that many years ago when states of the US could dictate what you did in the bedroom, and some states did. But yes, extra-marital sex is not a crime. I made that comment about the link between such sex and crime because that was the claim in Daniel’s linked article. I was merely asking him to clarify his point, since the article seemed to undermine what he was saying.

And legal abortion and PlanB doesn’t encourage extra-marital (I assume you actually mean pre-marital) sex.

No, I meant extra-marital sex. It may be pre-marital or it may be adulterous, but I was referring to sex outside of marriage. Heck, for that matter many people in the US engage in sex with no intention of getting married so the term “pre-marital” may be dated and inaccurate. But I am open to other points of view on the matter.

At any rate, I am a bit distrustful of the freakonomics perspective, so I take Daniel’s article with several grains of salt.

Extra-marital sex happens no matter what, in (from what nearly every anthropologist tells us) the same ratio of guitly:non-guilty all over the world and, as best we can tell, for as long as humans have existed. Legal abortion, PlanB, birth-control and the like serve to un-tabooize the behavior so that a serious effort to deal with it’s health effects can be put forward.

I appreciate what you are saying, but a traditional Christian perspective is that other cultures are in error. Christ and the Christian Church bring light to the world so that sins can be avoided. Un-tabooizing the behavior is backsliding into non-Christian error and bring greater personal and societal harm.

The problem of having the PlanB discussion is that I know some Catholics who actually view the use of ortho-tricycline as abortion.

Yep, you will find some members here who believe that.

 

[spectrm]

Hi Spectrm,

I pretty much agreed with your viewpoint when I arrived at CAF. It is, after all, the mainstream view. But remember, folks here at CAF believe that abortion is murder. To put Planned Parenthood into this perspective, let’s say we have a doctor who provides all kinds of service to the community: free medical care to the poor, makes housecalls to the elderly, volunteers at the women’s shelter etc, but every weekend he murders someone. Are you saying we should ignore the murders because the doc is a really nice guy?

‘Murder’ is a loaded term. And, at that, it’s the mother who is responsible for the choice. The doctor is there to make sure she doesn’t go to a back alley with a coat-hanger. But, then…I know how Catholics feel about Kevorkian, too.

If you believe that abortion is murder (and in some cases I do), then condemning Planned Parenthood for providing abortions is not nitpicking.

Is execution of murder convicts not state provided murder? Does our government not kill when it goes to war, and in much larger numbers? Yet this group focuses on this?

I think that statistic is a good reason not to take Viagra!
Yes, anti-depressants bring dangers, but they prevent a greater danger. I am not sure the same can be said about Plan B and Viagra.

Viagra, certainly not. I follow George Carlin on this one - “A woody not gotten naturally is a woody not worth having”. I disagree that anti-depressants prevent greater dangers than they cause and I disagree the PlanB doesn’t prevent great dangers.

It wasn’t that many years ago when states of the US could dictate what you did in the bedroom, and some states did. But yes, extra-marital sex is not a crime. I made that comment about the link between such sex and crime because that was the claim in Daniel’s linked article. I was merely asking him to clarify his point, since the article seemed to undermine what he was saying.

okay

No, I meant extra-marital sex. It may be pre-marital or it may be adulterous, but I was referring to sex outside of marriage. Heck, for that matter many people in the US engage in sex with no intention of getting married so the term “pre-marital” may be dated and inaccurate. But I am open to other points of view on the matter.

You’re probably right, here. But the nature of mine and my wife’s relationship puts me in a position of distinguishing between the two, so I’ll likely continue to do so.

At any rate, I am a bit distrustful of the freakonomics perspective, so I take Daniel’s article with several grains of salt.

I think it’s important to let skepticism be rooted in reason, not in faith. If you’re faith is right, you should have no problem rectifying the two.

I appreciate what you are saying, but a traditional Christian perspective is that other cultures are in error. Christ and the Christian Church bring light to the world so that sins can be avoided. Un-tabooizing the behavior is backsliding into non-Christian error and bring greater personal and societal harm.

But here in the US, it’s not JUST your culture. The nation must be shared with all it’s members.

 

[Dale_M]

‘Murder’ is a loaded term. And, at that, it’s the mother who is responsible for the choice.

No, it isn’t a loaded term. Its an accurate description what what is happening, at least according to those who consider the fetus to be a person.

The doctor is there to make sure she doesn’t go to a back alley with a coat-hanger.

There is something to be said for harm reduction, for example, giving out clean needles to drug addicts. But if someone believe that the supposed harm reduction is resulting in the loss of a human life, then it isn’t really harm reduction. Again, this is contingent on the belief that the fetus is a human person.

But, then…I know how Catholics feel about Kevorkian, too.

Hoo boy, that’s another kettle of fish. Maybe we should save it for another thread.

Is execution of murder convicts not state provided murder? Does our government not kill when it goes to war, and in much larger numbers? Yet this group focuses on this?

I agree that capital punishment is unwarranted murder, and the Catholic Church basically believes it, too, although it allows enough wiggle room for die-hard supporters of the death penalty to hold on to their support for it.

As for warfare, the common number tossed out in these forums is that 50 million abortions have occurred in the US since Roe v Wade. I am not sure that is true, so please don’t ask me for a neutral source, but certainly it is far higher than have been killed in American wars during that time

But here in the US, it’s not JUST your culture. The nation must be shared with all it’s members.

I agree, and I recognize the danger of tyranny of the majority. On the other hand, democracy is all about the people voicing their will and that includes values motivated by religion. Finding the right balance is the trick.

 

[NCSue]

‘Morning-after’ pill available to minors - Washington Times

I can’t even begin to fathom the logic of those who would sanction allowing minors access to this pill when it is required that minors obtain parental consent for piercings, tattoos, and other things which, at worst, “disfigure” the body and not the psyche.

Here is the list of potential side effects for this drug (found online at health.yahoo.com/birthcontrol-medications/levonorgestrel/healthwise–d00557a1.html):

If you experience any of the following serious side effects, seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately:

an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
possible blood clot in the lung (shortness of breath or pain in the chest);
possible blood clot in an arm or leg (pain, redness, swelling, or numbness of an arm or leg);
headaches with a change in pattern, severity, or length, or that are unending in nature or accompanied by changes in vision;
high blood pressure (severe headache, flushing, blurred vision); or
liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue).
Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Talk to your doctor if you experience

breakthrough, heavy, or prolonged menstrual bleeding;
lack of menstrual bleeding;
headache or dizziness;
nausea;
breast tenderness;
changes in weight or appetite;
oily skin or acne; or
changes in hair growth.
Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.

Even assuming you disregard the ethical dilemmas this poses (and I certainly can’t), what are they THINKING in allowing children - and 17-year-olds ARE children - to be subjected to such risks?