The morning after pill also known as the abortion pill might become as easy to buy as aspirin.
Right now women can only buy Plan B if they can prove they are over the age of seventeen. Everyone else must see a doctor first. According to U.S. District Judge Edward Korman, the age limit is “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable…” then ordered the end of the restrictions in thirty days. The Justice Department is deciding whether or not to appeal. President Obama believes the restrictions are common sense.
“There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent…”said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council. “The involvement of parents and medical professionals acts as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today’s ruling removes these common sense protections.”
Spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Deirdre McQuade, said, “Plan B does not prevent or treat any disease, but it makes young adolescent girls more available to sexual predators. The court’s action undermines parents’ ability to protect their daughters from such exploitation and from the adverse effects of the drug itself.”
It was the judge’s latest ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights and dating back to 2005 that pushed for unfettered over-the-counter access to Plan B.
The morning after pill contains a higher dose of the female hormone, progestin, than is in birth control pills. Its recommended use is within the first 24 hours of unprotected sex, but it can be used as late as seventy-two hours after the act. Proponents argue that the Plan B pill cannot induce an about because it has no effect one implantation has occurred. What they don’t say is that the super dose of hormones hardens the uterine wall so that the living embryo cannot implant. The very early life is destroyed.
That Plan B prevents implantation of fertilized eggs was dismissed by Judge Korman as discredited though he failed to present evidence that the prolife position lacked merit.
