Anti-scientism

Victor at Rightwing film geek expands upon the same argument I made of the hypocrisy of having Plan B being OTC, but not the regular pill. Though he says it much better. [Via American Papist]

Let me see if I've got this straight:

* A daily dose of from 0.05 to 0.15 mg of levonorgestrel requires a prescription.
* Requiring that a 1.5 mg dose of levonorgestrel must have a prescription is patriarchal tyranny over women's bodies, sexphobic anti-scientism and the precursor to a HANDMAID'S TALE-like theocracy.

That's the unavoidable conclusion of this atrocious and politicized decision (courtesy of blackmail from "the mom in sneakers and the devil in Prada") to make available Plan-B "emergency contraception" over the counter. From Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America:

Since birth control pills require a prescription and a doctor’s supervision during use, how can the FDA or the drug manufacturer condone providing Plan B (a mega-dose of the same drugs) over-the-counter? Widespread access to Plan B would expose women to the health risks that here-to-fore were acknowledged by doctors who screened women before prescribing birth control pills and then monitored them for the wide variety of contra-indicators for their use.

To be sure, in the first of the above-mentioned dosages, many forms of the Pill also have estrogen or something that mimics its effects. But it's not as though progestins like Plan-B don't pose real health risks quite on their own or that progestin-only oral contraceptives don't also require prescriptions.

Today's greatest winner -- trial lawyers, who will soon receive a bountiful new field of cases, of people without medical training calibrating their use of drugs several times more powerful than what they need a prescription for when the stated purpose is something else (a fact that is chemically and biologically irrelevant). Mark my words -- within the decade, Barr Laboratories will either be hiding behind immunity granted by a Democrat Congress, bankrupt/in receivership, or will have sold Plan-B to the government or some group like Planned Parenthood.

I think another possible fallout is that contraceptive pills could also become OTC at some point. The FDA simply can't defend not doing this on medical grounds now that they have allowed this for Plan B.