Writer weighs in on morning-after pill decision in provocative way, looking at both sides but ultimately saying it protects girls

Freelancer Mariam Williams writes a provocative piece in The Courier-Journal about a federal official's recent rejection of a proposal to allow girls 16 and under to obtain the morning-after pill without a prescription.

Williams speaks to girls who fall in this age group and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the decision, which was made last week by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, despite a recommendation to the contrary by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Her decision will come at a cost to me and every other adult woman of child-bearing age," Williams writes. "It will set a precedent for every time someone wants to ignore science and embrace an ideology that not everyone else believes. Her actions will tell them that's OK, and when a pharmacist denies a grown woman's request for the morning-after pill, or when people who believe a fertilized egg is a person can't give any scientific reason for the laws they want to pass, they'll point to Kathleen Sebelius.

"But I believe you and girls younger than you are worth the danger her decision put all of us in. She did this to protect you where the adults in your life have failed you, to push you to talk to an adult if you're having sex or if you've been sexually assaulted so that you can get the information you need to be as safe as possible. So I hope you take your behavior seriously. We women do." (Read more)

Morning-after pill should not be available to young girls over the counter, HHS secretary says, reversing FDA

Contrary to the recommendation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, girls younger than 17 won't be able to get the "morning-after pill" without a prescription. The FDA was overruled by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday.

"Right now, girls age 17 and older can get the emergency contraceptive without a prescription, but a prescription is required for girls age 16 and younger," reports Darla Carter of The Courier-Journal.

Teva Women's Health requested that the drug, known officially as Plan B One-Step, be available to all girls of child-bearing age. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg was in favor of the request, saying she felt there was "adequate, reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective."

But Sebelius disagreed and directed the FDA to write a letter denying Teva's request. "She cited insufficient data to support the company's application, plus cognitive differences between older adolescents and younger girls, such as 11-year-olds," Carter reports. (Read more)