They Just Won't Give Up
Some news articles make me want to bash my head on the incomparable Ms. WaterTiger's desk. I ran into one of those articles this morning in the Sacramento Bee.
When the Food and Drug Administration allowed the "morning-after pill" to be sold over the counter last year, reproductive rights advocates felt they'd cleared a major hurdle in eliminating delays that diminish the drug's effectiveness.
But nearly a year after the emergency contraceptive Plan B became easier to purchase, obtaining it without a prescription remains a hit-or-miss proposition for many women.
Inconsistent or confusing state laws and store policies, along with some pharmacists who won't dispense it for religious reasons, are complicating and sometimes blocking access to the drug.
The problems, however, start at the top with the FDA. Canny folks, those government officials.
FDA restrictions on how the drug is sold without a prescription are contributing to the problem, experts said. The agency requires Plan B to be stored behind the pharmacy counter rather than on store shelves, and buyers must be at least 18 years old and must prove it with government identification.
These restrictions permit pharmacy employees to block access to the drug, whether mistakenly or because of their personal objections. As a result, some noncitizens are being asked to produce government photo IDs, when photos aren't required, and some men are told that only women can buy the drug. [Emphasis added]
And that is just exactly what the administration's appointees hoped would happen. When the safety of the drug was established and the agenda of some FDA officials was exposed, the drug finally was approved. The next step was obvious: make it so damned difficult to get the drug that the most vulnerable of us wouldn't even try. How moral of them. That way, those pharmacists who have religious compunctions about the drug and its effect have a right handy excuse to add to their arsenal, which is quite well stocked in some areas of the country:
In some cases, pharmacists with personal objections aren't stocking the medication, won't fill or refill prescriptions and won't tell customers how to get the drug elsewhere. In small towns with few options, that can cause delays that greatly diminish the drug's effectiveness.
There's a word for such folks, but I don't think the porcine part of the creation would be happy with the association.
When the Food and Drug Administration allowed the "morning-after pill" to be sold over the counter last year, reproductive rights advocates felt they'd cleared a major hurdle in eliminating delays that diminish the drug's effectiveness.
But nearly a year after the emergency contraceptive Plan B became easier to purchase, obtaining it without a prescription remains a hit-or-miss proposition for many women.
Inconsistent or confusing state laws and store policies, along with some pharmacists who won't dispense it for religious reasons, are complicating and sometimes blocking access to the drug.
The problems, however, start at the top with the FDA. Canny folks, those government officials.
FDA restrictions on how the drug is sold without a prescription are contributing to the problem, experts said. The agency requires Plan B to be stored behind the pharmacy counter rather than on store shelves, and buyers must be at least 18 years old and must prove it with government identification.
These restrictions permit pharmacy employees to block access to the drug, whether mistakenly or because of their personal objections. As a result, some noncitizens are being asked to produce government photo IDs, when photos aren't required, and some men are told that only women can buy the drug. [Emphasis added]
And that is just exactly what the administration's appointees hoped would happen. When the safety of the drug was established and the agenda of some FDA officials was exposed, the drug finally was approved. The next step was obvious: make it so damned difficult to get the drug that the most vulnerable of us wouldn't even try. How moral of them. That way, those pharmacists who have religious compunctions about the drug and its effect have a right handy excuse to add to their arsenal, which is quite well stocked in some areas of the country:
In some cases, pharmacists with personal objections aren't stocking the medication, won't fill or refill prescriptions and won't tell customers how to get the drug elsewhere. In small towns with few options, that can cause delays that greatly diminish the drug's effectiveness.
There's a word for such folks, but I don't think the porcine part of the creation would be happy with the association.
Labels: Abortion Rights, FDA, Women's Rights
posted by Diane at 12:15 PM
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