Politics vs Science

As per usual, the government, the FDA this time, in its effort to keep women barefoot and pregnant, didn't go through the normal procedures before they poo-pooed the Plan B, morning after pill for release without a prescription. It was an unusual decision.

In December 2003, FDA’s scientific advisers overwhelmingly backed over-the-counter sales for all ages, citing assessments that easier access could halve the nation’s 3 million annual unintended pregnancies. But the following May, FDA leaders rejected that recommendation, citing concern about young teens’ use of the pills without a doctor’s guidance. (MSNBC)

It's my opinion that even if they weren't sure whether or not to release the pill to young teens, the drug should be available without a prescription to everyone else while the details are hashed out. Plan B is NOT an abortion pill. It can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after sexual contact. Use of this pill can lower the abortion rate! What the hell is the problem? We still have ignorami, even pharmacists, who just don't get it.

Did that Target pharmacist who wouldn't dispense a prescription for plan B to a women believe that the woman should be punished and have a baby? Is that how some seek to change societal values? By making a baby a punishment? Are they sick? (rhetorical question. I know they are.)

When reader, Red State Blues wrote to Target to protest their employee's disregard for his job, Target responded defensively (See also Target's response) and today a similar response was received by someone at Americablog. It's too bad that Target's employees are so misinformed and pharmacists don't understand how certain medications work. It's not a moral issue unless you are into immorality- forced pregnancy is immoral.

It's too bad that Target defended their employee. I used to like that store as it was the lesser of 2 evils. Now I am not so sure.
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UPDATE: This blog entry at Mother Jones says that the FDA declares that condoms prevent pregnancy. Now I wonder if the wingnuts will try to stop the sale of them without parental notification or a doctor's prescription. Oh wait, no. It's ok for males to be promiscuous. Senator Coburn of where else, Oklahoma, who is also a physician, warns the report is "misleading," and that condom labels provide "dangerous reassurance."

The article also talks about the vaccine against human papilloma virus, the lea

ding cause of cervical cancer. Wingers don't want their teenage girls to be vaccinated (that's when it's most effective) because they are afraid that girls will be more promiscuous... give me a break. Since when did anyone ever worry about cervical cancer in the back seat of a Chevy?

"Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, for example, has stated that "giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex.""

I don't think so Brid. Perhaps a prescription for birth control pills for the teen might be presumed as licence in some cases, but having your daughter vaccinated against cervical cancer seems like a humane thing to do. What, do these parents want to say, "I told you so" some day when their daughter gets cancer? This stuff gets weirder and weirder. I liked the world much better when the total wackos on the religious right were silent and tucked away deep in rural areas.

My head is spinning. Wingers want women to be punished for having sex. That is simply not fair. They better come up with a punishment for the men. heh.
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