Women's Intelligence Quotes
The FDA had studied for years the safety and efficacy and concluded that Morning After pill contraceptive, Plan B was safe and effective and could be sold over the counter. However when the Department of Health and Human Services issued the regulations to allow it to be sold over the counter without a prescription they disallowed sale to girls under 15. Several religious organizations opposed to birth control pressured the administration to overrule the FDA and they did so partially trying to compromise. However, the science showed no differential factors of risk for girls under 15 and a suit were filed by women’s and public health groups to eliminate the age restriction. Judge Korman found that the government had acted illegally in imposing an age restriction with no scientific evidence to justify it. The Plan B contraceptive was particularly contentious for religious groups as it as a “morning after” pill—it is taken AFTER intercourse and thus is considered abortion by some anti abortion groups. What made the case more embarrassing for the Obama Administration is that Obama campaigned against the common practice of the George W. Bush administration of ignoring the science or distorting it in policy making. Upon inauguration, President Obama issued executive orders to all departments to follow science in their decision making. Then in this case, they did just what the Bush administration had done—overruled the science to pander to or mollify a particular pressure group.
