@nathancushing

Getting an ‘A’ in the science of Plan B

Many are disappointed that the President has agreed with the decision reached by Health and Human Services Secretary Katherine that Plan B should not be available over the counter for those under the age of 17. 

Sal Gentile summarizes the data that surround the issue:

Medical experts have for years urged the federal government to make emergency contraception available to teens without a prescription, noting that the drug is safe and highly effective, preventing as much as 80 percent of pregnancies in teens and young women, according to the AAP. As early as 2005, the Academy wrote in a policy statement, “Reduction of unintended pregnancy during adolescence and the associated negative consequences of early pregnancy and early childbearing remain public health concerns. Emergency contraception has the potential to significantly reduce teen-pregnancy rates.”

The AAP also found no evidence that the availability of emergency contraception increases rates of sexual activity, or the frequency of unprotected sex, among teens. Studies in which a treatment group was given an advanced provision of emergency contraception and a control group was given only education found that ”there were no differences in the frequency of unprotected sex between the groups,” according to the AAP.

Personally, I think Obama’s decision was influenced by not giving Republicans a target on which to unleash their social conservative rejoinders as presidential campaigning for next November’s elections is already underway.