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The Morning After…Once Again.

In this Reuters article, Barr Pharmaceuticals tries once again to make Plan B (or "The Morning After Pill) available over the counter...

Barr Pharmaceuticals will resubmit a request to sell its morning-after contraceptive pill without prescription, the company said Tuesday after meeting with Food and Drug Administration officials.

Last week the FDA proposed allowing Plan B to be sold without a doctor's order for women 18 and older from behind the pharmacy counter, adding it would reopen discussions with Barr which had sought to sell the drug to women 16 and older.

Seems as long as they change the age of availablity to "legal" age the FDA will consider allowing the drug to be sold over the counter. They are set to resubmit the request in two weeks with this stipulation added.

Here are two points of interest to me in this article

1) Democrats have also held up Senate confirmation for President Bush's pick to lead the FDA, Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, until the agency makes a final decision on the product. ....THANK GOD.

2) The drug's supporters say easing access will lead to fewer abortions, while critics argue wider availability will increase promiscuity.

To me, that last statement is the "money quote".

I would like to almost refrain from making smartass comments about that quote simply to let you guys discuss what you think about it.

What does it say about how far the "moral compass" has gone in this country in that the liberals are fighting for less abortions while the right is fighting for LESS SEX all round?

And, beyond that, why in the hell do they care if I'm having sex? Or if I'm having MORE sex?

I wonder if they'd get upset about those nasty dreams I have about Brad Pitt every night? I think those do more to "increase promiscuity" than the FDA allowing comprehensive birth control.

Previous Comments

ID
107299
Comment

ali, the trend here is that the religious right is obsessed with what we do with our "parts"--simply, our private lives are to be scrutinized publicly. didn't you KNOW that sex is bad? ;)

Author
nyoung
Date
2006-08-11T11:16:50-06:00
ID
107300
Comment

BULLSEYE, ALI!!!! I forgot exactly which non-JFP blog it was, but one blogger suggested essentially the same thing: The Religious Right is unhealthily obsessed with extramarital sex (I speak as a former SBC member -- no offense to Emily. I know not all SBC members are like this, but you know the prevailing attitude in that denomination). How else do you explain their being against abortion and Plan B on one hand AND ALSO against sex education on the other (in the case of Catholics, add being against fertilization inhibition pills/devices, too)??? Furthermore, how else would you explain if, in addition to all that, their opposition to sex toys as well? To me, this cluster of positions, when taken together, make sense only if their real bete noir is "sexual immorality". Add the fact that some states even today still have statutory fossils that criminalize sexual intercourse out of wedlock and you have all the evidence you need that stigmatization of extra-marital sex is their ultimate goal at least as much as abortion (were they merely concerned with abortion, then they shouldn’t have no problem with sex education and dispensing condoms, spermacides, pills and, IUDs in schools). Ali:And, beyond that, why in the hell do they [The Right] care if I'm having sex? Or if I'm having MORE sex? Philip: I'll just repeat the spirit what I said on the Pro-abortion Rally thread(Jul 20, 06 | 3:38 pm). I reworded this rendition of the post to screen out the admittedly heavy bombastic rhetoric. Even so, it still captures the substance of what I sought to get across. One can easily get the impression the Religious Right’s politics is as follows: God chose our nation to be His Shining Light on the Hill. Therefore, there is an implied covenant between God and the people of the United States of America. Because of this implied, but obviously present covenant, it’s more important for this nation to follow God’s Law than it is to allow personal freedom. Furthermore, just as God punished Israel when it did not follow His Holy Laws, so will He punish America (and any other nation) who does not follow His Holy Laws. Because of our nations “implied covenanthood” with God, it follows that democracy is a Godly form of government ONLY to the extent that the voters and leaders themselves obey the laws of God. All of this means that if we Americans value personal freedom to live our lives as we wish more than we value our relationship with God (whether individually or as a nation), this will render democracy itself a WICKED, SINFUL form of government. Therefore, the Bible ought to be an implied co-Constitution and the Church an effective Fourth Branch of Government. Anyone who truly believes this about America is frankly theologically naïve. Christ’s blood atonement did away with the requirements of The Covenant Law. It sufficiently to cover our sins if we follow him. Furthermore, NOWHERE in the New Testament did God give a mandate to make He Himself the “secular” King over their nations. He only called us into a strictly personal relationship with him. In fact, Jesus himself said “Render unto Caesar..”. So relax, Moralists, I doubt God will angrily punishing America simply because this nation may become like He did Sodom and Gomorrah. Regardless of what happens to the world around you, you’re relationship with Him won’t be damaged one bit!

Author
Philip
Date
2006-08-11T12:47:34-06:00
ID
107301
Comment

Well, I think you are partly right Philip. I think some people are opposed to Plan B and other emergency contraceptives just because these can destroy a fertilized egg. That is, they are opposed to any method of birth control that has as part of it's function the ability to do this. So, for these people, it is simply an extension of their belief that human life begins at conception. It doesn't have much to do with sex per se. I THINK the Catholic concept that extends this further to opposition to all birth control is a religious concept that associates healthy sexuality with procreation. That is, they are not opposed to the enjoyment of sex, but they believe that sex divorced from the process of conceiving children is spiritually and psychologically -- less than desireable. Since Catholicism has a tradition of making little distinction between spiritual and secular authority, they also make little distinction between spiritual and secular ethics when applied to the law. So I think that's where that comes from. In addiiton to this, there are those who do indeed want to use the law to enforce their religious view in secualr society. Their justification stems from the argument that this is a Christian nation, and they use Old Testament language about God's relationship with Israel to paint parallels between the secularization of America and the apostacy of Israel. Some of these people are the ones who want to use the law to limit peoples ability to make their own decisions about their sex lives. So anyway, different folks have different reasons for opposition. That's the way it appears to me, anyway.

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-11T14:39:43-06:00
ID
107302
Comment

Point well taken GLB, No doubt the issue "does life begin at conception, or even fertilization?" is enough to make many people think twice about it. My main concern was looking at all the issues relevant to pregnancy and discerning a motive behind the religious right's positions that otherwise makes no sense when looking only at the pregnancy termination issue.

Author
Philip
Date
2006-08-12T09:32:16-06:00
ID
107303
Comment

Yes, I see that. And I think you're right -- for lots of those identified with the "religious right". But, there are lots of others who come from an entirely different point of view, who happen to share the same opposition to these types of birth control. So I guess I was just fleshing that out a little. I'd say that politics makes strange bedfellows, but...

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-12T10:41:22-06:00
ID
107304
Comment

Ali, here's my solution, they should take some of the millions of $$ used to promote & perfect VIAGRA and design a pill that MEN could take to kill their 'potential'. They could call it KILL BYLL!!!! I am sure it wouldn't encounter much opposition for over the counter availability. No harm to the egg....Destroy the fertilizer!!!!!

Author
Jackson Area NOW
Date
2006-08-15T15:45:36-06:00
ID
107305
Comment

yeah, I've often wondered why women bear the brunt of chemical birth control--the hassle, the cost, the side effects. I'm all for equal access for men and women to this kind of bc.

Author
Izzy
Date
2006-08-15T16:12:25-06:00
ID
107306
Comment

They're actually getting close to doing that, but yeah, it'd be really nice if they'd put money into this project instead of Viagra and Cialis. Kind of shows where their priorities are... Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-15T16:19:13-06:00
ID
107307
Comment

Laurel, officially, the problem seems to be that although testosterone halts sperm production in exactly the same way that estrogen halts egg production, long-term use of testosterone can make a man permanently sterile--or so the conventional wisdom goes--while long-term estrogen use does not seem to have the same effect on women. Unofficially, the problem is that men don't get pregnant and therefore by and large don't give a rat's ass about birth control. Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-15T16:37:11-06:00
ID
107308
Comment

We exist in a day where everyone should be allowed the respect of their person and property-especially women, in society. Until ALL men cease having sex w/women, birth control should be available in the water/air!!!!

Author
Jackson Area NOW
Date
2006-08-16T21:33:48-06:00
ID
107309
Comment

Birth control, even if it's used correctly, does not always work. We have two beautiful children who are a living testament to that. Abstinence, however, always works. You may get frustrated, but it always works. :D

Author
Lady Havoc
Date
2006-08-16T22:43:55-06:00
ID
107310
Comment

Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-16T23:11:16-06:00
ID
107311
Comment

Actually, the sad fact is that abstinence doesn't always work. 14.8% of American women will be victims of completed rape at some point during their lifetimes, and rapists don't generally use protection--and that doesn't include women who have sexual experiences that they might not describe as rape, but where they were too intoxicated to give consent. In Britain, a recent study found that something like 65% of women have their first sexual experience while drunk. I don't think that's a coincidence. I have had too many conversations with young women that went something like "Well, I don't remember anything about it, but that's because I was too drunk. He says it wasn't rape, and I believe him, but if I'd been sober..." to discount the possibility that if rape-by-alcohol were more commonly recognized as rape, the figure would be substantially higher than 14.8%. So as a sex-avoidance strategy, abstinence has, at best, an 85% success rate even if the abstinence pledge holds (and it rarely does). For my part, I tell people I'm still waiting for Ms. Right at 28--where the usual response is a "What's wrong with you?" and "You need to get out more." One old friend used to greet me with the line "You need to get out of religion and get laid, Quasimodo." (This never offended me, for some reason, and you'd probably have to know this guy to realize why.) And women who wait get it twice as bad. Practice abstinence and the world tells you you're not worth having; don't practice abstinence and the world says you have no standards. You can't win. For people who are sexually active, the best option might be redundant prophylaxis supplemented with Plan B. Birth control pills alone have a significant failure rate. Condoms, when selected correctly and used correctly, have an almost zero failure rate (the 3% failure rate includes incorrect use of condoms). Spermicidal cream has a very low failure rate. So if one uses birth control, condoms, and spermicidal cream, the odds of pregnancy are prohibitively low. And if a condom blooper takes place, taking Plan B the next day will eliminate the already very low risk of fertilization. That's why I wish every sexually active woman who doesn't want to become pregnant--regardless of age or income level--had Plan B in her medicine cabinet. I just get so depressed when I think about this stuff. I've been very close to people whose lives were completely turned upside down, in a bad way, by the consequences of sex--and I'm not just talking about STDs and unplanned pregnancies, though I've seen plenty of those, too. Then I turn on the TV and I see a culture where sex is just something that people do, almost by rote, some kind of weird Wal-Martish Starbuckish product that you WILL INEVITABLY TRY and people who don't are treated as if they practice self-mutilation. I just wish it could be a personal choice. There was never a time when it was just a personal choice. In the old days good girls didn't, and now good girls do. There was never a time when good girls were allowed to just make up their own damn minds. Maybe one day. Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-16T23:34:26-06:00
ID
107312
Comment

Tom: Just so you know, when you get over 30, people just assume you are asexual or secretly gay or something and they stop giving you a hard time. They essentially just give up on you altogether. So if you don't meet Ms. Right soon, you have that to look forward to. For better or for worse. Have a nice day. {:)

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-16T23:48:57-06:00
ID
107313
Comment

GLB- You are completely right! I know my father has asked my mother at least once if she was sure I wasn't a lesbian. Its even harder for people in the South to fathom a FEMALE at thirty who isn't married and doesn't have children. They can't imagine that I just haven't wanted to do it yet. Or rather, haven't found someone with which to take that journey. I think they get even more upset because *I* am not upset about it. My grandparents visited yesterday and the first thing my grandfather said was, "How's your love life, sweet pea?" I told him it was "colorful and unfettered." He'll be trying to figure that out for WEEKS.

Author
Lori G
Date
2006-08-17T09:39:59-06:00
ID
107314
Comment

"colorful and unfettered". That makes me happy.

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-17T09:56:01-06:00
ID
107315
Comment

And those who boast abstinence always NEVER practice what they...demand others to do. Again, it's an individual choice, and when I choose to have sex, I don't appreciate the hurdles in obtaining the necessary resources to ensure safety for myself and my partners.

Author
Jackson Area NOW
Date
2006-08-17T21:33:27-06:00
ID
107316
Comment

And those who boast abstinence always NEVER practice what they...demand others to do. Oh yeah, never.

Author
Ironghost
Date
2006-08-17T21:44:49-06:00
ID
107317
Comment

Hope you don't want children. They will happen, no matter what kind of birth control you use. I never said anything about the right to choose: it's your right. But no matter what, there are consequences to your actions. If you can live with those consequences, then you can feel good about making the right choice.

Author
Lady Havoc
Date
2006-08-17T22:30:36-06:00
ID
107318
Comment

Lady Havoc writes: Hope you don't want children. They will happen, no matter what kind of birth control you use. Okay, let's do the math on this. First, the Pill: 8% per year failure rate for typical use, but 1% per year for correct use. Assuming the person in question uses the Pill consistently, we have 99:1 odds against pregnancy for a year of sexual activity. Next, let's look at the failure rate for condoms. Condoms have a 15% failure rate if used incorrectly and a 2% failure rate if used correctly. We will assume, again, that the person in question has sex with partners who use the condom correctly. Therefore we can reasonably conclude that the odds of pregnancy when both birth control and condoms are used is 2% of 1%, or 0.02% for a year of sexual activity. But let's carry it a step further. Let's say that the condom breaks. Now, there's still a 99% chance that the woman won't get pregnant, but she isn't taking any chances--she takes Plan B, which has an 89% success rate. The odds are now 11% of 0.02%, or 0.0022%. Or maybe she uses ParaGard IUD EC insertion, which has a 99.9% success rate compared to 89% for oral progestin. Well, that would reduce the odds to 0.01% of 0.02%--or 0.0002%. Your odds of getting pregnant after a year of intercourse are now approximately 1 in 500,000. For comparative purposes, the odds of dying of hypothermia in any given year are 1 in 469,000. So pregnancy isn't necessarily inevitable. In fact, if one practices abstinence but is not on birth control, the odds of being raped, and becoming pregnant as a result, are exponentially higher than the odds of becoming pregnant through voluntary sexual intercourse while practicing safe sex. This has been a public service announcement. You all may now return to your seats. ;o) Cheers, TH, who practices abstinence, but preaches safe sex.

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-17T23:10:10-06:00
ID
107319
Comment

Whoa! I just seriously overstated the odds. I said: Let's say that the condom breaks. Now, there's still a 99% chance that the woman won't get pregnant... The odds are actually substantially higher than 99%. Remember that the 99:1 odds are for an entire year of sexual activity while on the Pill--not a single sexual encounter. I don't have any statistics on what the odds of pregnancy as the result of a single sexual encounter while on the Pill would be, but I'm sure they're lower than the odds of pregnancy as the result of a year's sexual activity while on the Pill, unless the folks in these studies only have sex once per year (which I doubt!). Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-17T23:12:40-06:00
ID
107320
Comment

...but then if the condom breaks, that's part of the 2% failure rate, so that affects the statistic, too. Math was never my strong subject, but I think that at any rate pregnancy does not suggest that "[children] will happen, regardless of what kind of birth control you use." The kind of birth control you use, and how you use it, can be the difference between nil effect and a failure rate below the odds of dying of hypothermia. Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-17T23:22:26-06:00
ID
107321
Comment

Tom: And yet all of us know "oops" children. I know several. I think I am one, actually. I have no proof, but consider the evidence. I am the fourth of 4 children, and my oldest sibling is less than 5 years older than I am (and my Dad spent a year in Vietnam in the middle of that 5 year period!). In addiiton, there exists a home movie of my Dad just after my sister was born (the third child) where, if you read my Dad's lips, he clearly says "no more!" And finally, I have it on good authority that, after my birth, my grandmother got my Dad a special congratulatory gift --- a minature guillotine. Anyway, I'm not really rebutting you Tom, except maybe to suggest something a bit vague to think about. As Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park is fond of saying... "life finds a way"

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-17T23:31:38-06:00
ID
107322
Comment

GLB, I know quite a few myself. It definitely happens--but we have tools that folks 30 years ago didn't have. I mean, take Plan B, for example. 89%. Imagine if 89% of unintended pregnancies never happened. Imagine if 89% of abortions were never necessary. Heck, imagine either figure cut by half. The effects this would have--on helping people stay financially solvent, on reducing the need for abortions--would be dramatic. Safe sex is about so much more than letting people screw without feeling guilty for it afterwards (though it's certainly about that, too). Of course some unplanned pregnancies will still happen. And some people in the United States will still die from hypothermia! But medical technology can do so much. Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-18T00:09:11-06:00
ID
107323
Comment

Well, this is a bit of a tangent, but I think one of the complicating factors is simply that a big reason we want to have sex at all is that our instincts are trying to get us to reproduce. So those same instincts can interfere with our enjoyment of sex precisely because we are bending over backwards to be careful, as a way of encouraging us to relax about it a little bit. That's partly why spontaneity is so exciting. Anyway, this is just a private theory of mine and I don't have any evidence to back it up other than my own thinking. But that's kind of what I was thinking when I said "life finds a way". Whether we want kids or not, our instincts scream for them.

Author
GLB
Date
2006-08-18T00:24:10-06:00
ID
107324
Comment

I LOVE tangents. And, Tom, I hate to tell you this...but according to my mother (who was on the pill in the seventies...obviously not the really GOOD ones) that my brother was an "oops" and that *I* was what she refers to as a "pleasant surprise". :) She got pregnant with BOTH of her kids on the pill. She just happened to be married. I think I like being a "pleasant surprise". Kinda makes me feel SPECIAL. :) But obviously, the pill wasn't that great back then.

Author
Lori G
Date
2006-08-18T01:36:14-06:00
ID
107325
Comment

And it still isn't perfect now, with an 8% annual failure rate the way most people use it. That's why I made such a big deal out of redundant prophylactics and Plan B. The last couple of replies tell me that I've gotten so dreadfully long-winded that even my friends are tuning me out after the first couple of sentences, so maybe it's time to... Post Using Subheads Yeah, that's pretty dorky, but let's see how it looks... (I have now officially become one of those eccentric characters from a David E. Kelley dramedy. Denny Crane!) The Gospel of IUDs According to Planned Parenthood IUDs are much closer to perfect. The ParaGard copper IUD theoretically has a 99.9% efficiency rate on a year-to-year basis--literally, a 1 in 1,000 chance of pregnancy for a year of sexual activity. That's not exactly the same thing as zero chance of pregnancy, but it's significant. Tom Asks Ali a Feminine Question Ali, I don't have a uterus, so I have to ask: Do people ever use birth control pills and IUDs concurrently? I don't see why it would be impossible, and I don't see any warnings against it on the Planned Parenthood page, but obviously I've never tried it myself and it would probably smart quite a bit if I did, particularly the IUD implantation part. 76 Billion Channels and Nothing On I'm sure there's no 100% effective way for two people with the right equipment to have sex without risking pregnancy. We're all improbabilities. Richard Dawkins likes to say that most people are never born, and if we calculate possible DNA combinations, he's right. The odds of you being born Ali Greggs, or me being born Tom Head, are about 1 in 76 billion. Okay, This Subhead Foolishness Sucks But it's probably easier to read. Now if I can just figure out a way to do in-text hyperlinking... Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-18T02:35:57-06:00
ID
107326
Comment

Oh, and Ali, FWIW, I'm glad you were born and all... ;o) (That last post was SO embarassingly Tom Headdish, but I try to turn into a parody of myself every now and then--it builds character.) Cheers, TH

Author
Tom Head
Date
2006-08-18T02:40:35-06:00
ID
107327
Comment

Here's the follow up on this. YEAH!

Author
Lori G
Date
2006-08-24T10:15:23-06:00
ID
107328
Comment

thanks, Ali. It's great news. Could you believe the comment at the last part--as in "this pill is going to make it harder to locate statutory rapists" I thought that logic was a bit off, to say the least! :-) but I'm glad about this & thank you for drawing attention to it. --La La

Author
Izzy
Date
2006-08-24T10:38:18-06:00

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