Being pregnant is not like having a cold. It is not something that someone can "cure" with an over-the-counter drug, but last year, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration's acting commissioner for failing to make the emergency-contraceptive (or EC) product Plan B available without a prescription. This lawsuit has been controversial all over the United States for the past two years, but last week at a press conference, Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced her plans to involve Wisconsin in the current lawsuit. As of March 15, the action states that the FDA's delay in approving emergency contraception reflects the administration's failure to respond to the urgent medical needs of women.
The original proposition requested that the court order the FDA to make Plan B available to all women over-the-counter, regardless of age. It reiterates this request with information like, "Increased access to emergency contraception (EC) promotes public health by improving opportunities for women and adolescents to use the drug when they face a crisis. Widespread use could prevent as many as half of the 3 million unintended pregnancies in the U.S. each year."
This lawsuit is absurd. Not only is the proposition unethical but also unsafe. The long-term effects of Plan B are not known, since, to date, there have not been any clinical studies on it. The morning-after pill is being held to a higher standard by the FDA because it is necessary to do so. Women prescribed birth-control pills are required to meet with their doctors once a year; yet, emergency contraceptives aren't going to require any sort of doctor's appointment?
Emergency-contraceptive pills provide a higher dose of hormones than ordinary oral-contraceptive pills and contain either a combination of estrogen and progestin, or progestin only. They are generally taken within 72-120 hours of unprotected intercourse because the sooner they are taken, the smaller the chance of pregnancy. Since emergency contraception is used at all stages of a woman's menstrual cycle, its method varies. Used after intercourse, it may prevent pregnancy by delaying or inhibiting ovulation, inhibiting fertilization or inhibiting implantation of the fertilized egg.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 210 million women worldwide are estimated to become pregnant each year, and 80 million of those pregnancies are unplanned. Unplanned does not necessarily mean unwanted. Sometimes the greatest mistakes bring the greatest education and the greatest amount of happiness. In cases of rape or incest, taking EC without psychological and physical evaluations can be even more damaging to the woman than the possible pregnancy.
Freedom is often abused in the United States. Allowing young women the opportunity to take the pill frequently — not just in the case of emergencies — promotes irresponsible behavior. Getting pregnant is not the worst thing that can happen when two people engage in unprotected sex — AIDS and STDs are much worse. The supposed embarrassment of a doctor's visit to prescribe EC lies in the fact that if a woman is frequently seeking EC, she is not taking precautious measures in her sexual behavior. There should not be any embarrassment if EC is used infrequently, for actual emergencies. EC was not developed as a substitute for birth control. It was developed for emergency purposes only.
The situation is easy to imagine. Sex is not a matter to be taken lightly in any situation. Self-medication for women of any age allows even the youngest girl the right to go to the pharmacy by herself to buy EC and ingest. If offered over-the-counter, emergency contraception will act as a scapegoat to preventative action. If Wisconsin is allowed to intervene, it will be named as a plaintiff in the suit that could destroy many forms of prevention and health that the U.S. government is supposed to protect.
Joelle Parks ([email protected]) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.
