Archive for March, 2009
Monday, March 23rd: A Big Day for Plan B!
March 26th, 2009 by catherineMonday, March 23, 2009, was a big day for Plan B!
Judge Korman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered the FDA to reconsider its decision to limit the OTC sale of Plan B to 18 years of age and older. It also ordered the FDA to act within 30 days to extend over-the-counter access to anyone 17 years of age and older.
This was an amazing victory pursued by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Further, it is one that I am particularly excited by because my daughter and I were plaintiffs.
Aliza Led, I Followed
I am the president of WCLA – Choice Matters, one of the oldest pro-choice advocacy organizations in the country-but I must confess that it was Aliza who led the way. I simply followed her.
Aliza knew about Plan B and believed strongly that it should be available to her and her friends. She also adamantly believed that minors have a right to privacy. When she overheard me telling my husband about possible legal action against the FDA concerning Plan B restrictions, she was determined to join the suit. In all honesty, we were not so sure it was a good idea because we were concerned for her privacy, but she was resolute. So, when the FDA finally decided to make Plan B over-the- counter for people 18 and older, she was ready to act!
Aliza’s Age
Aliza was one of the three teenagers involved in bringing the suit. In that Aliza was 16 when the motion was filed and turned 17 before the motion was fully briefed, she played a key role in the decision. (The other two teenagers were both 13.)
Part of the text of the Summary Judgment stated:
“Aliza will turn 17 before this motion is fully briefed, and thus falls into the category of women (who all scientists at FDA agreed could safely and appropriately use Plan B as an OTC drug, but are barred from doing so by the BTC regime), which imposes an age cut-off of 18.”
To read the Summary Judgment Brief: summary_judgment_brief_final
The full decision, 3/23/09: sjdecision
Press Release: CenterForReproductiveRightsPressRelease
Why Her Age Mattered
The significance of Aliza’s age was explained by Nan Strauss of the Center, in April 2007:
“Being 17, she [Aliza] cannot access EC OTC, based on the final FDA decision. However, prior to that last decision setting the age limit at 18 (on 8/26/06), during 2005 and the beginning of 2006 Steven Galson, the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, had placed the age restriction at 17…”
“No one at FDA has indicated any problem w/ the data showing that 17 year olds can use Plan B safely and appropriately. The only basis for the restriction on women 17-18, is that the FDA wanted to set the age limit so that it would be in accordance with already existing age limits on products like tobacco and nicotine replacement products. So it’s helpful to have someone in that in between group, for whom the added year of the restriction (the shift from 17 to 18) is significant, and totally unrelated to health, medicine, or science.”
“Only Aliza falls into the group of women for whom everyone at FDA says can safely use the drug, but can’t have OTC access because pharmacies are already accustomed to restricting certain products to people over 18.”
Aliza’s commitment, courage and action led to results for all teens across the nation. I am so proud of her!
Friday the 13th was a Good Day for Plan B
March 19th, 2009 by catherine
Friday was a great day! We were in Yonkers educating people about Plan B which is a high dose of birth control that can stop a woman from becoming pregnant if taken within 5 days of unprotected sex. It is more effective the sooner you take it. If you take it within 3 days, it is 89% effective.
It is also called EC (emergency contraception) or the morning-after pill. Our blog on Plan B which tells you, among other things, which pharmacies in Westchester stock Plan B, can be found at: OOPS Plan B Blog
Karen Carroll-former coordinator of Westchester’s SANE program, Julie Frauenfelder of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Services Program, and Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick joined us in a call for education about Plan B. The Journal News and Channel 12 covered the Press Conference.
Saturday we will be at the Yonkers Library.
To buy a Plan B t-shirt, button, or any of the other items that support this education project, click on:
Press Conference: PLan B, Women’s History Month and Bristol Palin
March 12th, 2009 by catherine
Just think, what might have been if Bristol Palin
had known about Plan B…
«PRO-ACTIVELY DECREASING THE NUMBER OF UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES AND ABORTIONS«
JOIN US TOMORROW
March 13, 2009 11 am
Yonkers City Hall Steps/South Broadway
YONKERS, NY: On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama said, “no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make.”
On Friday, March 13, 2009 at 11 AM on the front steps of Yonkers City Hall, Choice Matters together with other women’s advocacy organizations including Victims Assistance Services, Julie Frauenfelder of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Services Program, and Karen Carroll former Coordinator of the Westchester County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program, will put President Obama’s words into action by taking The Emergency Contraception (EC) Initiative-Plan B Education and Awareness Outreach to the streets of Yonkers.
“Armed with a recorder, educational materials and the Oops-Plan B couch we will work to empower the women of Westchester through education to take control of their lives. The significant increase in teen pregnancy rates in both Westchester and the Tri-State Area is alarming. We stand together in our belief that the dissemination of proper and correct information about Plan B can play a key role in reversing this trend, and in our determination that it is crucial to educate the public — particularly women — about Plan B, a.k.a Emergency Contraception, EC, or the morning-after pill,” declared Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, president of Choice Matters.
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FACTS ABOUT PLAN B
1. Plan B is a high dose of birth control that can be taken up to 5 days after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy although it is most effective when taken sooner. Plan B is in NO WAY an abortion pill as it CANNOT terminate a pregnancy and does NOT have an effect on an already existing pregnancy. It also does not protect against STIs. Plan B does provide an alternative method of pregnancy prevention and when used within the first 3 days of unprotected sex it is up to 89% effective. It still works within the 5-day window but its effectiveness does significantly decrease.
2. Plan B is available over the counter if you are 18 or older, and if you are under 18 it is still available but you need a prescription to receive it and the prescription can be both prescribed and filled without parental consent, which is in accordance with New York State law.
According to the Guttmacher Institute: 1.94 million unintended pregnancies–including almost 400,000 teen pregnancies—and 810,000 abortions are prevented each year by publicly funded family planning services that provided millions of young and low-income women access to contraceptive services which include Plan B. In addition to the number of unintended pregnancies Plan B and other contraceptives prevent, there is the issue of cost. Publicly funded family planning services are highly cost-effective. More than 9 in 10 women receiving them would be eligible for Medicaid-funded prenatal, delivery and postpartum care services if they became pregnant. Avoiding the significant costs associated with these unintended births saves taxpayers. For every dollar spent on contraceptives, taxpayers save $4 in costs associated with unintended births to mothers eligible for Medicaid-funded natal care. (Guttmacher Institute, Joerg Dreweke, 2/24/2009)
