AUG
28
2006

The Controversial Morning-After Pill and Other Reproduction Rights


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The Morning-After Pill — Is It Different from Other Contraceptives? A recap of “The View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s emotional outburst on the controversial subject. U.S. pharmacists refusing to fill prescribed birth control and morning-after pills.




The Controversial Morning-After Pill and Other Reproduction Rights

It’s about time! The Food and Drug Administration has finally approved the Morning-After Pill, Plan B to be sold over-the-counter in pharmacies without a prescription. Women aged eighteen and older or their male partners will be able to purchase the pill with proof of i.d. However, the FDA has not yet approved Plan B to be legally purchased without a prescription for teenagers under the age of eighteen. (Note 1)

Earlier this month, co-host of The View Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a huge on-air, beyond blonde hissy fit at the very mention of the Morning-After pill. Hollywood powerhouse Tom Cruise got the axe for acting a little looney in public by Paramount. But apparently, ABC condones complete and utter, on-air ignorance as displayed by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Could someone please explain to her that the Morning-After birth control pill is NOT the freakin’ Abortion pill?! It’s just a higher-than-normal dosage of the same hormones as found in most monthly birth control pills. The only difference is you take it after you’ve had sex. If conception has already occurred the little zygote will not be harmed. Elisabeth, rest assured that no babies will be left out on the street by taking Plan B.

Really, there’s so much unnecessary opposition against under age purchasing of the Morning-After pill which raises this question: is it really any different than other forms of contraception? So, should condoms and spermicide require proof of age too? Opposers would certainly say yes. Back in the day, when I was under the legal drinking age, kids would just pay an older friend to do a beer run to the liquor store. It’s safe to say that under age teens today will take a similar plan C approach to getting Plan B at their local CVS.

And in a related outrageous reproduction rights topic, many far right-winged pharmacists have regressed back to our country’s puritanical roots and are not filling prescriptions for birth control and the morning-after pill. The reason why? They simply don’t believe in it.

According to Alan Sonfield of the Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York:

“there are pharmacists who mistakenly believe contraception is a form of abortion and refuse to prescribe it to anyone.”

Wow, talk about misinformed. How in the hell did these people graduate from pharmacy school if they can’t identify the difference between contraception and an abortion? Reportedly, some pharmacists are going even as far as to hold prescriptions hostage refusing to transfer them to other pharmacies to be filled when time is of the essence, especially for the morning-after pill.

These people need to get a serious grip on the Hippocratic Oath. They’re providing contraception NOT euthanasia!

Note 1: Just as a sidenote, this is not to suggest that teens should be having sex, or that teens or adults should be using this as an alternative to safe sex. That is an entirely different argument. This is merely to suggest that if something does happen, for whatever reason (ie. your “umbrella” broke), such an option should be made readily available.

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 by on Aug 28, 2006, 12:00am
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