Two years ago, in the midst of controversy over the provision of the Affordable Care Act that mandates free contraception for women through their health insurance, the Obama administration made a very conservative move in the opposite direction.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration and began requiring girls ages 17 and under to have a prescription for the morning-after pill, commonly known as Plan B. On Friday, a New York federal judge ordered that the pill be made available over-the-counter for women of all ages.
Sebelius had — and still has — the right to create this type of restriction, but precedent and common sense dictate that restrictions on medications be based solely on scientific evidence demonstrating their safety and effectiveness, or lack thereof. Scientists at the FDA, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have all been publicly in favor of unrestricted access to Plan B for many years. But in 2011, Sebelius — who is not a doctor — decided that her concerns about the safety of the drug were more significant than the science on which these doctors based their recommendations.
The move was undoubtedly political, meant to appease conservatives who were up in arms about more liberal contraception laws created by the Affordable Care Act. Proponents of the restriction also claim that making Plan B more available actually encourages young women to have sex because they have a safety net to avoid pregnancy. This claim has not been proven, and is similar to the idea that teaching kids how to use condoms will encourage them to have sex, even though significant research has proven this is not true.
By lifting the restrictions on Plan B, New York federal judge Edward R. Korman took a huge step forward in the movement for women’s health, making it more likely that young women will avoid unwanted pregnancy with a safe drug. He gave the FDA a month to comply, during which time the Obama administration may decide to appeal. This draws attention to the crucial issue here, which is not women’s health at all, but rather that the Secretary of Health and Human Services can make arbitrary decisions regarding medication.
Restrictions on specific medicines should not be made by a single bureaucrat, but by panels of scientists in a regulated environment who study the drugs and come to decisions based on health, not morals or politics. If a drug is safe to take without a doctor’s approval in the form of a prescription, and it works to make the user healthier, there is no reason to restrict it. While Plan B is safe for now, too much power to restrict basic rights to health care still rests in the hands of one person.
A verison of this article appeared in the Monday, April 8 print edition. Jess Littman is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected].