Plan B Over the Counter

Plan B has been approved for over the counter sales to women 18 and older. Now those who wish to prevent pregnancy can pop a pill the next day. I concur with these reservations in this Tribune front page story:

President Bush "missed the mark with this endorsement," complained Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family. "Over-the-counter status for Plan B--regardless of the age requirement--is an invitation for adult men to pressure underage girls to have sex with the promise of an easily-accessible magic pill to prevent or abort a pregnancy."

Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical Association, criticized what he called the FDA's "political compromise" and said "removing this high dose of hormones from a doctor's oversight removes a vital safety protection from women."

So this high dose of hormones can be bought by an older boyfriend or girlfriend and handed out no problem, like M & Ms.

And what are the effects of repeated use, starting so young? Do we know? Here is the earlier Q & A by the FDA on their decision not to approve Plan B, which included this:

Although the joint committee recommended to FDA that this product be sold without a prescription, some members of the committee, including the Chair, raised questions concerning whether the actual use data were generalizable to the overall population of nonprescription users, chiefly because of inadequate sampling of younger age groups.

Namely, sexually active 11-14 year olds.

Here is the current Q & A. I guess we should be thankful the pill "will not be sold at gas stations and convenience stores". For now.

Note the Important Safety Information offered by the manufacterer. The Family Research Council also points to other concerns, one raised by the World Health Organization, that this pill could mask ectopic pregnancies, and looks at the effects where this pill has been in use.

But the question that remains in my mind has to do with the long term effects. Being over 50, I remember when "the pill" first came out. The dosage on the early birth control pills was much higher than those prescribed now. It was reduced because such a high dose was not needed, as it turns out, but also for safety reasons. This Plan B dosage repeated over time will be significant.

I understand that this pill can help rape victims, but it looks like it will create more victims, damaging their health and encouraging sexual abuse. And once again, they will be among the most vulnerable in our society.

UPDATE: The chairman for the drug company had this to say in the NY Times, via RCP:

Barr will study Plan B’s use in young adolescents in hopes of getting the agency’s age restrictions lifted, Mr. Downey said.

“In my mind,’’ he said, “if we go back and have an adequate study that includes the younger group, the basis for any age restriction goes away.”

Well, why not, let's look at these 11-14 year olds' sexual activity, and up to age 18. And, as the age of menarche has been dropping steadily for a century, there are even possible subjects as young as 8! Fertile ground you might say, a new market.

I'd be interested in how the drug company achieves enough trials to be statistically significant.

Then there's an undercurrent of concern here and here, which a cursory search on the net reveals. Obviously more than a few knowledgable people have been worrying about this subject and the implications for society.

Is the push for over the counter sales of Plan B an abrogation of responsibility for young girls, driven by the aging feminist agenda? Sacrificing the unborn and now yet another group for the cause.

UPDATE II: You'll find at IWF a related post about sexualizing little girls.