President Barack Obama said Thursday it was just common sense to keep girls under the age of 17 from being able to buy a morning-after contraceptive pill off a drugstore shelf. Citing his own two daughters, Obama said: “I think most parents would probably feel the same way.”
Plenty of pediatric leaders and women’s advocacy groups did not, as reaction flowed in to the administration’s decision to prevent the over-the-counter sale of the anti-pregnancy drug to sexually active girls of younger ages.
Critics said politics had trumped science, again.
Yes, pretty much. President Obama, when he took office, pledged a commitment to scientific integrity. President Obama has said that he had nothing to do with the decision but does support Sebelius.
“I will say this, as the father of two young daughters: I think it is important for us to make sure that, you know, we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine,” Obama said in a brief news conference at the White House.
Obama’s daughter Malia is 13. His daughter Sasha is 10.
Obama said that as he understood it, Sebelius was wary of a 10-year-old or 11-year-old going into a drugstore and buying a medication – one on the shelves next to “the bubble gum and batteries” – that could be harmful if not used properly.
Things like that are usually in an out of the way area in drugs stores, housed with the condoms, spermicides, and other personal products. For that matter, medicine like this could also be placed behind the counter, where it is now since ID is required to buy it if you look young.
I understand a father wanting to protect his daughters. But isn’t that allowing emotion to become involved in a science decision? Our real best protection for our daughters might be to allow them to not get pregnant if they fear that might happen, for whatever reason. It might just be a reason they don’t want to discuss with Mom or Dad.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg made clear that the decision is highly unusual. She said her agency’s drug-safety experts had carefully considered the question of young girls and she had agreed that Plan B’s age limit should be lifted.
A person familiar with the decision said Sebelius did not share her reservations about Plan B ahead of time with the FDA.
Conservatives are praising Sebelius over her decision. I am curious as to why. Fewer unintended pregnancies means fewer abortions, fewer teens with babies, and fewer checks to write to help support the babies. It just seems like emergency contraception is a much better idea than abortion or unwanted pregnancy.
Funny how no one really seems to be attacking the Obama administration (and Obama himself) in all of this. I see this as cynical vote-buying, to be reversed once he is safely into a second term. I don’t think the left has anything to worry about here.
I criticized him and sent an email.
If it is cyncical vote buying, it is a stupid way to do it. Do you really think that people who oppose Plan B for teens are going to rush out and vote for him over this?
Bwaaaahahahahahahahahaha–Oh Mr. Obama..I now love you and am sorry I ever questioned that you weren’t a real American. I see your Christianity now shining through those Muslim eyes. Now I will vote for you because your secretary of whatever voted not to let anyone take plan b without an rx.
I don’t think so.
The left and the moderates have plenty to worry about. The women and the pro choice people who support him might very well withdraw that support, enough to have little personal incentive to go to the polls on election day. They won’t switch sides. Not with Newt Gingrich looming on the horizon. They will just stay home. That’s not so good for Mr. Obama.
Are there any links that describe the results of the FDA study? When the media describes how carefully the FDA studied the issue but provides no supporting research or context to back up their claims, I get suspicious. The government screws up all the time, so a simple statement asserting that the science proves that the morning-after pill is safe for young teenagers to get over the counter is not good enough.
It is not anti-science to require transparency.
It is probably on the FDA website.
Whatever they did, do you think it is better for teens to be pregnant?
I find myself strangely in agreement with Obama. Parents are responsible for the health and well-being of their minor children. Young teenagers, i.e. children, should not be able to obtain medicines/hormones without parental consent.
By the same logic, I would argue that minors should not be able to obtain over-the-counter medication without being accompanied by their parents. Just as tobacco and alcohol are prohibited from being sold to minors, so too should medications. Teenagers can and do find ways to mis-use products that the FDA would never dream of.
And to answer your question, society should take every available prudent step to avoid unwanted pregnancy, but I would rather see a teenager pregnant and alive/unmaimed than the possible alternatives if the drug proves to be unsafe.
Kids can misuse just about anything. Many years ago I knew a kid who killed himself, unintentionally, by inhaling Pam. Yea, the cooking stuff.
I am trying to figure out how a teenager is going to maim themselves on a morning after pill. What about the millions of teenagers who don’t have responsible parents? What about the kid who takes herself to a clinic or a planned parenthood. So she has an rx. How is that diffferent?
Being pregnant can be very dangerous, by the way. Go look at some of the graveyards from 100 years ago and more. They are filled with women in their child bearing years.
I am having a disconnect here talking to both you and Steve. You are talking from the standpoint of your kid or how things will be (you hope) with your kid. I am talking about what I know to be true in the big bad outside world.
The law wasn’t being changed for kids with parents like Kelly or Steve. That’s the problem with so many of these issue. An awful lot of kids with functionally absentee parents really need to have access to tools keep their lives on track.
To all–some of my stridency on this subject comes from looking at parenthood from someone with grown children. I think I basically have good kids. They weren’t always right and they were far from perfect. But they turned out to be decent human beings.
I have had to deal with several cases of what I would call ‘unconventional.’
I have also spent my life around a lot of teenagers and kids. Life isn’t always pretty or as we would like for it to be for a great many children.
Even in the small town where I grew up and in that era many doctors prescribed birth control pills as a means of regulating a girl’s period when it was very erratic. I’ve heard of no ill effects from those I knew who took these pills at a young age (14 or 15) and continued them for years. These women were exposed to these hormones for a longer time than someone who may occasionally use morning-after contraception.
Personally I’d like to see Plan-B be made available to any teen who requests it. Maybe younger teens need to get it from a clinic where they’re given info on what to expect. But ultimately pregnancy should be a decision left up to the individual female – woman or teen.
I think Obama waffled in order to compromise with conservatives – who won’t give him credit anyway. Most parents hope their kids will come to them for help in solving problems, but some will not either because they’re embarrassed or they know how angry a parent will be or they may be rebellious. Social status and upbringing didn’t prevent pregnancy when I was in high school and it won’t now. Too many parents are afraid that by talking about pregnancy and birth control that they are endorsing experimentation. So they shut up, hope for the best, and wonder how this could happen when their teens become pregnant or fathers.
Or…instead of vote buying or compromise with conservatives, he just thinks that parents should be involved. Its not a left-right thing. Its a parent thing. And some parents don’t like the idea of kids getting medicines without their knowledge.
I commend Obama for wanting to be involved. He needs to look several blocks down the street and observe that parent involvement just isn’t in it for some kids. The parents who are involved will be. Those kids without involved parents need a way of taking are of themselves.