{"id":9144,"date":"2011-12-07T14:08:56","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T20:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=9144"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:35:42","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:35:42","slug":"hhs-overrules-experts-blocks-selling-abortion-pill-on-store-shelves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/12\/hhs-overrules-experts-blocks-selling-abortion-pill-on-store-shelves\/","title":{"rendered":"Sebelius overrules experts, blocks selling abortion pill on store shelves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Details: <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In a surprise move, the nation\u2019s health secretary stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms, deciding Wednesday that\u00a0young<\/span><\/a> girls shouldn\u2019t be able to buy it on their own.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The\u00a0Food and Drug Administration<\/a> was preparing to lift a controversial age limit and make Plan B One-Step the nation\u2019s first over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, available for purchase by people of any age without a\u00a0prescription<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Health and Human Services Secretary\u00a0Kathleen Sebelius<\/a> intervened at the eleventh hour and overruled her own experts.<\/p>\n

Plan B instead will remain behind the pharmacy counter, as it is sold today \u2014 available without a prescription only for those 17 and older who show an ID proving their age.<\/p>\n

Sebelius\u2019 reason: Some girls as young as 11 are physically capable of\u00a0bearing<\/span><\/a> children, and Plan B\u2019s maker didn\u2019t prove that younger girls could properly understand how to use this product without guidance from an adult.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is common knowledge that there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age,\u201d Sebelius said in a statement. \u201cI do not believe enough data were presented to support the application to make Plan B One-Step available over-the-counter for all girls of reproductive age.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the latest twist in a nearly decade-long push for over-the-counter sales of pills that can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex. Major doctors\u2019 groups and\u00a0women\u2019s health<\/a> advocates say easier, quicker access to those pills could cut the nation\u2019s high number of unplanned pregnancies.<\/p>\n

The decision shocked maker Teva Pharmaceuticals, which had been gearing up for over-the-counter sales to begin by month\u2019s end, and\u00a0women\u2019s\u00a0health<\/span><\/a> groups.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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