The battle for reproduction freedom in America
has been going on for more than 100 years.
Margaret Sanger used her
writings and speeches primarily to promote her way of thinking. She was
prosecuted for her book Family Limitation under the Comstock Act in
1914. She feared the consequences of her writings, so she fled to Britain until
public opinion had quieted. Sanger's efforts contributed to several
judicial cases that helped legalize contraception in the United States. Due
to her connection with Planned Parenthood, Sanger is frequently criticized
by opponents of abortion. Sanger
drew a sharp distinction between birth control and abortion, and was opposed to
abortions throughout the bulk of her professional career, declining to
participate in them as a nurse. Sanger remains an admired figure in the
American reproductive rights movement. She
has been criticized for supporting negative
eugenics; Sanger opposed eugenics along racial lines
and did not believe that poverty was hereditary. However, she would appeal to
both ideas as a rhetorical tool
(Texas judge Andrew Kaczmaryk cited the
Comstock Act for his decision to ban the use of mifepristone, marking the first
time a court tried to invalidate the approval of a drug over the FDA's
objection.)
In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first
birth control clinic in the U.S., which led to her arrest for distributing
information on contraception, after an
undercover policewoman bought a copy of her pamphlet on family planning. Her
subsequent trial and appeal generated controversy. Sanger felt that for women
to have a more equal footing in society and to lead healthier lives, they
needed to be able to determine when to bear children. She also wanted to
prevent so-called back-alley
abortions, which were common at the time because
abortions were illegal in the U.S. She believed that, while abortion may
be a viable option in life-threatening situations for the pregnant, it should
generally be avoided. She considered contraception the only practical way
to avoid them.[
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger
Fortunately, common sense on birth control emerged
the other day.
U.S. officials have approved the first
over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls
buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared
Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making
it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter.
The company won’t start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will
be no age restrictions on sales.
Hormone-based pills have long been the most
common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women
since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.
Medical societies and women’s health groups
have pushed for wider access, noting that an estimated 45% of the 6
million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. Teens and girls, women
of color and those with low incomes report greater hurdles in getting
prescriptions and picking them up.
Some of the challenges can include paying for a doctor’s
visit, getting time off from work and finding child care.
“This is really a transformation in access to
contraceptive care,” said Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive
Health, a non-profit group that supported the approval. “Hopefully this will
help people overcome those barriers that exist now.”
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The company won’t start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales. Hormone-based based pills have long been the most common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.
Ireland-based
Perrigo did not announce a price. Over-the-counter medicines are generally much
cheaper than prescriptions, but they typically aren’t covered by insurance.
Forcing insurers
to cover over-the-counter birth control would require a regulatory change by
the federal government, which women’s advocates are urging the Biden
administration to implement.
Many common
medications have made the switch to non-prescription status in recent decades,
including drugs for pain, heartburn and allergies. Birth control pills are
available without a prescription across much of South America, Asia and Africa.
Perrigo submitted
years of research to FDA to show that women could understand and follow
instructions for using the pill. Thursday’s approval came despite
some concerns by FDA scientists about the company’s results,
including whether women with certain underlying medical conditions would
understand they shouldn’t take the drug.
FDA’s action only
applies to Opill. It’s in an older class of contraceptives, sometimes called
minipills, that contain a single synthetic hormone and generally carry fewer
side effects than more popular combination hormone pills.
But women’s health
advocates hope the decision will pave the way for more over-the-counter birth
control options and, eventually, for abortion pills to do the same.
That said, FDA’s decision has no relation to
the ongoing court battles over the abortion pill mifepristone. The studies
in Perrigo’s FDA application began years before the Supreme Court’s reversal
of Roe v. Wade, which has upended abortion access across the U.S.
With some states curtailing women’s reproductive
rights, the FDA has faced pressure from Democratic politicians, health
advocates and medical professionals to ease access to birth control. The
American Medical Association and the leading professional society for
obstetricians and gynecologists backed Opill’s application for over-the-counter
status.
An outside panel of FDA advisers unanimously voted in
favor of the switch at a hearing in May where dozens of public speakers called
for Opill’s approval.
Dyvia Huitron was among those who presented, explaining
how she has been unable to get prescription birth control more than three years
after becoming sexually active. The 19-year-old University of Alabama student
said she still isn’t comfortable getting a prescription because the school’s
health system reports medical exams and medications to parents.
“My parents did not let me go on the pill,” Huitron said
in a recent interview. “There was just a lot of cultural stigma around being
sexually active before you’re married.”
While she uses other forms of contraception,
“I would have much preferred to have birth control and use these additional
methods to ensure that I was being as safe as possible.”
Huitron spoke on behalf of Advocates for Youth, one of the
dozens of groups that have pushed to make prescription contraceptives more
accessible.
The groups helped fund some of the studies submitted for
Opill and they encouraged HRA Pharma, later acquired by Perrigo, to file its
application with the FDA.
Advocates were particularly interested in Opill because it
raised fewer safety concerns. The pill was first approved in the U.S. five
decades ago but hasn’t been marketed here since 2005.
“It’s been around a long time and we have a large amount
of data supporting that this pill is safe and effective for over-the-counter
use,” said Blanchard, of Ibsis Reproductive Health.
Newer birth control pills typically combine two hormones,
estrogen and progestin, which can help make periods lighter and more regular.
But their use carries a heightened risk of blood clots and they shouldn’t be
used by women at risk for heart problems, such as those who smoke and are over
35.
Opill has only progestin, which prevents
pregnancy by blocking sperm from reaching the cervix. It must be taken around
the same time daily to be most effective.
In its internal review published in May, the FDA noted
that some women in Perrigo’s study had trouble understanding the drug’s
labeling information. In particular, the instructions warn that women with a
history of breast cancer should not take the pill because it could spur tumor growth.
And women who have unusual vaginal bleeding are instructed to talk to a doctor
first, because it could indicate a medical problem.
Common side effects of the pill include bleeding,
headaches, dizziness, nausea and cramps, according to the FDA. The label also
cautions that certain drugs can interfere with Opill’s effectiveness, including
medications for seizures, HIV and hypertension.
Perrigo executives said the company will spend the rest of
the year manufacturing the pill and its packaging so it can be available in
stores early next year.
I’ve written about abortion a few times in the past. If you’re
interested, you can read them here:
https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-day-of-unborn-child_3.html
https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2018/07/roe-v-wade-is-in-news-again.html
https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2011/01/roe-vs-wade.html
The Dobbs decision of June of 2022 overturned more than 50
years of precedent when it overturned Roe v. Wade. Almost immediately several
states implemented strict anti-abortion laws. In some cases, abortions were
prohibited after six weeks of pregnancy – before women know they are pregnant.
At the same time, other states LOOSENED their abortion laws,
which is a very smart political move, since 71% of the American public (in both
parties) say decisions about
terminating a pregnancy should be left to a woman and her doctor, rather than
regulated by the government. But that support is not absolute: 26% of
respondents polled said abortion should be legal in all cases while 10% said it
should be illegal in all cases
The mid-term elections of 2022 pointed out two important facts:
1) The vast majority of the American public disagrees
with the Dobbs decisions
2)
The American public is not interested in supporting
extreme candidates for office. In Arizona, for example, ALL of the extreme
candidates lost the election, even if Kari Lake still won’t admit it.
Regardless of our political party, we would all like to see
fewer abortions, but there are only two ways to do that:
1)
Make birth control more widely available
2)
Mandate comprehensive sexual education inschools
in every state.
The FDA’s decision to make “the bill” available over the counter will likely face resistance from the more conservative members of our society – but it’s the only thing that makes sense, and reproductive freedom will be THE most important topic in the 2024 elections - even in conservative states like Oklahoma.
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