The Ethics of Plan B One-Step

Kathleen Sebelius' overturning of the FDA's Plan B One-Step
decision sparked a debate over the ethics of the pill.

Every year, 53% of US adults have unprotected sex with a new partner according to a survey by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals (“Young People”). This number is alarmingly high, but there is a post-sexual intercourse pill that can lower the risk of pregnancy after having unprotected sex. The FDA has approved the drug, Plan B One-Step, for girls under 17 without a prescription, but Obama’s administration denied the motion, forcing women under 17 to obtain a prescription before buying the drug. In fact, denying the motion helps protect many U.S. citizens. Obama’s choice to overrule the FDA is acceptable because he is obligated to protect parents’ authority over their children and to decrease women and girls’ rape risk.

Plan B One-Step is an oral contraceptive that can decrease the risk of pregnancy post-sex. Created to be used within 72 hours of unprotected sex, or sex where other birth control failed, Plan B and other oral contraceptives work similarly. The pill’s main ingredient, levonorgestrel, stops the sperm or egg’s movement to interrupt fertilization and thus delay or prevent ovulation. By obstructing egg fertilization, Plan B One-Step can often successfully prevent ovulation.

Plan B One-Step works efficiently because it inhibits fertilization. Because Plan B One-Step does not inhibit fertilization once it has occurred, it can be classified as a contraceptive, not as abortion. Although not as protective as other contraceptives, the pill shows extreme efficiency at its job. If taken within 24 hours of sexual intercourse, a 95% pregnancy risk reduction is seen (“Plan B”). If taken within 72 hours, a 61% reduction in pregnancy occurs (“Plan B”). Even 72 hours later, Plan B One-Step offers some protection. Overall, the scientific data backing Plan B’s effectiveness is very sound and has proven over many years to work effectively as an emergency contraceptive.

The US Food and Drug Administration must approve all drugs using submitted scientific evidence, before the drug becomes publicly accessible. The FDA gave Plan B One-Step prescription-level approval in 1999. Later, in 2006, the drug received approval stating women 17 and older could use the pill when bought over-the-counter. All females 16 years old and younger still had to obtain a prescription from a medical professional in order to obtain the drug.

Then, in 2011 the problem surfaced once again. All the scientific research indicated that 11-year-olds and 18-year-olds can both safely take the emergency contraception as 17-year-olds. That is why, in late 2011, the FDA approved the drug for non-prescription use by all women older than 11 years old. However, within a few days the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, denied the motion and said the age restriction stayed on the drug (Melnick). A few days later, President Barack Obama supported Sebelius’ decision.

Back in 2009, Obama told scientists that his administration and himself would not interfere with science and fact, but upholding ethics forced changes to what he previously stated. In 2009, he agreed to not intervene on decisions of scientists. This created an outcry when he backed Sebelius’s 2011 decision concerning Plan B. But, many articles fail to mention the strong ethics of American parents’ that Obama is expected to uphold. If Sebelius did not reject the FDA’s okay for the drug to be sold to teenagers without a prescription, then parents would have objected the decision. Parents would complain that their young daughters are under their guardianship and the government does not have the right to take away their paternal rights. When Obama made his promise, he could not have foreseen the future debates regarding Plan B One-Step and the ethical issues, not just science issues, at hand.

An age 11 girl more than likely still lives with her parents (or some form of legal guardians). Her parents still make sure she goes to school; they still make sure she has food to eat, and they are still, in general, in charge of her. Simply put, today’s society does not make it possible for an 11-year-old to live on her own. Also, 11 year-olds’ parents and legal guardians still hold legal responsibility for their daughter. Because of this, shouldn’t they have a say in the pills their daughter takes? Because teenagers under 17 are under their parents’ guardianship and are their parents’ responsibility, parents still have authority over their children that needs upheld.

Obama’s decision to not allow young girls 16 and younger the ability to buy Plan B sans prescription clearly defends American parents’ rights. Other countries, not just the United States, protect a parent’s authoritative right concerning Plan B One-Step. In England, a woman must have turned 16 years of age to buy the emergency contraceptive. A required doctor’s prescription must be obtained in Italy; and in Finland, a girl must be at least 15-years-old to buy Plan B (Tomasky). All these First World countries see the important parent’s right to protect their children and have thus put restrictions concerning the ages of women who can buy Plan B One-Step without prescription.

Additionally, Obama’s decision helped protect women and teenagers from rape. Many anti-abortion groups feared that the easy access of emergency contraceptives will increase the likelihood rapists would rape young girls and women (Bassett). Although they may not seem related, increasing emergency contraceptive accessibility could encourage rape. Using emergency contraceptives, rapists can more easily cover-up their evidence. An easier cover-up causes rapists to not worry about the consequences. Obama helped protect women from rapists who may use such easy access to an emergency contraceptive as cover-up when they rape innocent women when he backed Sebelius’ decision.

In conclusion, when Obama supported Sebelius’s rejection of the FDA’s Plan B One-Step approval, he fulfilled his job to protect American parents’ authority over their children and protect women. Because girls not yet 17 years old must receive a Plan B One-Step prescription, they can still buy the pill, but their parents will still retain some authority over them. Obama made the correct decision for today’s society when his administration overruled the FDA.

Works Cited

Bassett, Laura. "Plan B Over-The-Counter Initiative Nixed By Kathleen Sebelius, Age Limit Remains In Place." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. 

"FDA's Decision Regarding Plan B: Questions and Answers." FDA's Decision Regarding Plan B: Questions and Answers. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 4 Mar. 2009. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Melnick, Meredith. "U.S. Rejects FDA Advice to Sell Plan B One-Step Over the Counter." Time.com. Time, 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

"Plan B One-Step Emergency Contraception." Plan B/Emergency Contraception. McKinley Health Center, 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

Tomasky, Michael. "Michael Tomasky: A Progressive Defense of the White House on Plan B." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 09 Dec. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

"Young People Report High Levels of Unprotected Sex and Barriers Affecting Their Right to Obtain  Trustworthy Information about Sex and Contraception." ESC. European Society of Contraception, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.