Plan B will be sold to any aged woman or girl, without prescription, in the coming months.  The federal government will comply with a federal court order to lift restrictions and instruct the drug’s manufacturer to take steps toward this end.  The Justice Department stated in a letter to the Second Circuit’s court of appeals judge, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, that it will comply with a federal court’s ruling to lift age limitations on who can purchase Plan B One-Step, also called the “morning after pill.”  In this letter, the government states that it will drop its appeal and rescind its previous stance that proof of age restrictions should apply to girls under 17 years of age purchasing the drug.  This will not apply for the two-dosage pill.
This news is alarming on a number of levels: the health of the user, the potential for aborting a fertilized egg, the exploitation of young girls in sexual relationships, and the continuation of the consequence-free sex myth.
WHAT IS PLAN B?
A little background on Plan B.  Plan B is already available over the counter, to purchasers 17 years and older, upon proof of age to the pharmacist.  Younger women can access the drug through a prescription. The drug is generically known as levonorgestrel and is manufactured by Teva Pharamceutical Industries.  It consists of a higher dose of synthetic progesterone than in standard birth control pills.  According to its own website, Plan B works in three ways:

  • Preventing ovulation
  • Possibly preventing fertilization by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or egg
  • Altering the endometrium {the mucus membrane that lines the uterus}, which may inhibit implantation

It was approved in 1999, but only upon prescription. In 2006, the FDA approved it for nonprescriptive sales for women 18 and older. In 2009, the FDA approved Plan B One-Step, a newer version that works in one pill instead of two, for 17 year olds without prescription.
In February of 2011, the manufacturer requested no restrictions on the drug sale, citing two studies demonstrating its safety for users as young as 11 years old and the FDA approved the request.  Ten months later, this decision was blocked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, citing a lack of conclusive evidence that Plan B could be safely used by young girls.  In April of 2013, the FDA approved sale without prescription to women 15 and older.
A law suit was brought in federal court in 2005 to make Plan B available without prescription for women of all ages, but it was not resolved until now with the Second Circuit’s ruling that will not be appealed by the administration.  As of June 10, 2013, the administration will facilitate availability of the drug to any girl and woman without prescription, no age limit.
WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED?
Plan B presents concerns for the health of the woman or girl ingesting it.  This is a large dosage of the synthetic hormone progesterone, a proven carcinogen linked to breast and ovarian cancer.  Consider how little we know about the long term effects of this toxin over time in children’s bodies.  Girls as young as 11.  No long term studies available on this presents a serious health concern, as cited by HHS Secretary Sebelius.
One of the listed ways Plan B works is to make the lining of the uterus inhospitable to a fertilized egg.  The egg is medically considered a zygote, the fruits of a sperm and egg meeting, the foundation of human life.  Flushing a zygote from your uterus is a termination of that life, an effective abortion.
Consider also that younger girls can be more easily sexually exploited.  Their partner doesn’t have to wear a condom, nor does she have to be on birth control, which requires a prescription.  Instead, she can be pressured into sex anytime because there’s a morning after pill readily available, unbeknownst to her parents, that she can purchase to “ensure” no pregnancy.  Plan B doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted diseases, or guarantee prevention of pregnancy.  The unsuspecting, uneducated young girl doesn’t know these risks to sexual activity despite the morning after pill.
Lastly, the availability of Plan B to any girl, any age, no prescription perpetuates the myth that being sexually active has no consequences.  Sex is simply another experience, like eating tasty food or sipping fancy drinks.  It has no connection to our spiritual being, our identity, or our vision of ourselves.  The widespread, unchecked availability tells girls that their bodies can be poisoned, their babies aborted, their sexuality hijacked, and their worth discounted.  All without the guidance of their parents, healthcare providers, or sexual counselors.  All on their own.

Sources
Plan B One-Step Website
Women’s WebMD, “Plan B (Morning-After Pill): Effectiveness and Side Effects
Center for Reproductive Rights, “The Fight for Emergency Contraception: Every Second Counts”
Boston Pilot, “Obama Administration Drops Fight to Limit Age Restrictions on Plan B” June 14, 2013
New York Times, “Obama to End Effort to Restrict Morning-After Pill” June 10, 2013
CNBC, “FDA Approves Plan B One-Step for Girls 15 and Older Without Prescription” May 1, 2013

Nell O’Leary is a recovering lawyer turned blogger, speaker, and sewer of baby goods while tending to her husband and four kiddos in the great city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. She serves as Managing Editor for Blessed is She and can down a hot cocoa in no time flat. Find out more about her here.