Obama Administration Sets New Precedent

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“It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient - especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda - and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology,” President Obama promised at the beginning of his term (US News). Nature’s “The Morning After” argues that President Obama’s recent decision to halt FDA efforts to make the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill available over the counter is contrary to his promise to abide by the decisions of science. But when the scientific evidence, or lack thereof, is examined with regard to the effects this decision could have on society, it becomes obvious that President Obama and his administration made the most appropriate decision possible given the circumstances. 

The Plan B One-Step gives women extra levonorgestrel, the active ingredient in many birth control medications. This hormone can affect the gametes’ ability to form an embryo and the ability of a fertilized embryo to attach to the uterine wall. The Plan B One-Step pill is not the abortion pill, but it is still very serious medication that can cause side effects such as nausea, headaches, changes in menstrual cycles, and diarrhea. (Plan B One-Step)


“The Morning After” bases its argument against President Obama’s decision on several claims and assumptions. First, it is stated that there is scientific evidence that supports the FDA’s decision to lift the 16 and under ban. Second, it is presumed that girls under the age of 17 can properly use the Plan B One-Step pill. Third, it is presumed that the benefits of lifting the ban outweigh the risks for young teenagers. Fourth, it is presumed that lifting the ban is the most beneficial option for society.


The FDA’s Administrator Margaret A. Hamburg released a statement, supposedly based on scientific research, stating that the Plan B One-Step pill was safe for girls younger than 17 when used properly (The Washington Post). However, most of this research actually came from Teva Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturers of the Plan B One-Step pill (Time Heathland). This research must be approached with great scrutiny and discretion because of the bias that is most likely associated with it.


While the FDA may have approved that the Plan B One-Step pill is safe for those under 17 when used properly, this doesn’t mean that young teenagers will have proper judgment when using the pill. “One study reviewed by the FDA, involving 335 girls aged 12 to 17, showed that 72% to 96% of them understood the proposed Plan B One-Step package label well enough to use emergency contraception safely and effectively without consulting a doctor. Another study, involving about 300 girls aged 11 to 16 also found that they could use the drug properly on their own” (Time Healthland). Obviously, if almost one third of young girls cannot adequately understand the instructions, the Plan B One-Step pill should not be readily available to them. Plan B One-Step’s website continuously emphasizes the importance of not using the pill habitually as a method of contraception. It is not inconceivable that young teenage girls would take the Plan B One-Step pill routinely as an extra measure of birth control. We must not give young teenagers with underdeveloped judgment access to this emergency contraceptive with potential harmful effects.


The FDA’s research assumes that, medically, the benefits of the Plan B One-Step pill outweigh the potential consequences. Allowing young teenagers to have unhindered access to the Plan B One-Step pill will allow them to potentially prevent pregnancy (the pill is ineffective for 1 out of 8 women) (Plan B One-Step). However, giving teenagers access to the pill without regulation could result in the abuse of this pill as a regular contraceptive and could have harmful long term effects. The Plan B One-Step pill has high levels of hormones that affect an embryo’s ability to develop. These hormones have only been administered in small doses (in regular birth control medications) for a mere 35 years. The hormones have not been administered long enough to determine the long term effects on women and their children. There is certainly not enough evidence to determine what the effects of the extremely high levels contained in the Plan B One-Step pill would be if taken regularly. Young teenagers cannot be trusted to understand the responsibility behind taking strong medication. If abused, the medication could have harmful long term consequences.


Allowing young teenagers to buy the Plan B pill will limit consequences and downplay the seriousness of a pregnancy. Allowing these things to become commonplace is detrimental to our society. In the words of President Obama, “The reason Kathleen made this decision was she could not be confident that a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old go into a drugstore, should be able — alongside bubble gum or batteries — be able to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect. And I think most parents would probably feel the same way” (Keilar). Obama was implying that giving people the same access to these emergency contraceptives as “bubble gum and batteries” would equate them to these household items in people’s minds. Alicia Kaempfe is a junior human development and human studies major at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where they currently sell Plan B pills out of a vending machine in the health center. Kaempfe echoes President Obama's sentiment, saying that she did not "appreciate the idea of being able to purchase Plan B in the same way one would purchase a Coke" (Mobley). President Obama realizes the gravity and seriousness of unplanned pregnancy, and wants to avoid making light of that situation as much as possible for the young people of America.


President Obama’s decision took into account the science and research behind the ban of the Plan B One-Step pill instead of overlooking it, as Nature suggests. After weighing the options, President Obama had to make a tough, but scientifically supported, decision to not lift the ban suggested by the FDA. President Obama was not merely playing politics; as a lawmaker and a father, President Obama had to act with caution regarding minors’ access to the Plan B One-Step pill.


Works Cited

"Frequently Asked Questions." Plan B One-Step. Teva Women's Health, Inc., 2011. Web. 27 Feb 2012. <http://planbonestep.com/plan-b-faq.aspx?

Keilar, Brianna. "Obama Endorses Move to Keep Age Restrictions on Morning After Pill." CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 08 12 2011. Web. 27 Feb 2012.

Melnick, Meredith. "U.S. Rejects FDA Advice to Sell Plan B One-Step Over the Counter." Time Healthland. 07 12 2011: n. page. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/07/federal-government-rejects-fda-decision-to-sell-plan-b-one-step-over-the-counter/>.

Mobley, Carrie. "Pennsylvania University Provides Emergency Contraception Plan B from Vending Machine." Collegian. Rocky Mountain Collegian, 15 02 2012. Web. 27 Feb 2012. <http://www.collegian.com/index.php/article/2012/02/pennsylvania_university_provides_emergency_contraception_plan_b_from_vending_machine>.

"The Morning After." Nature Online. 480.413 (2011): n. page. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7378/full/480413a.html>.

U.S. News Staff, . "President Obama's Speech on Stem Cell Executive Order." U.S. News. U.S. News & World Report, 09 03 2009. Web. 27 Feb 2012.<http://www.usnews.com/news/obama/articles/2009/
03/09/president-obamas-speech-on-stem-cell-executive-order>.