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you are here: home > stay informed > issues > abortion rights / reproductive rights
Abortion Rights / Reproductive Rights
www.mapconspiracy.org
WOMEN SUE FDA OVER MORNING-AFTER PILL ACCESS, SAY AGE RESTRICTION BLOCKS ACCESS FOR ALL WOMEN Monday the Food and Drug Administration announced its plans to take steps towards making the Morning-After Pill (brand name Plan B) available without a prescription only for women 18 and older. This is the first time in history that the Food and Drug Administration has proposed the creation of a separate status for a non-prescription drug, and it is testimony to the pressure being put on the FDA by anti-birth control extremists in Congress and in the White House. Annie Tummino, of the Morning-After Pill Conspiracy coalition, said that the FDA is keeping the Morning-After Pill from women who need it. Tummino is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit (Tummino v. von Eschenbach) against the FDA charging the agency with applying a sexist double-standard to the Morning-After Pill (MAP) that is does not apply to other drugs. The lawsuit is seeking over-the-counter access to the Morning-After Pill for all ages. "If you're old enough to get pregnant, you're old enough to decide that you don't want to be pregnant." Tummino said. "Putting an age restriction on the Morning-After Pill creates serious obstacles to all women's access and still places reproductive choices in someone else's hands." While the proposed age has quietly climbed from 16 to 18 in the past two years, the FDA's excuse for the restriction remains the same: access to the Morning-After Pill might increase the likelihood that teenagers will have unprotected sex. But the FDA continues to ignore evidence from a study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association in January of 2005 which found that easier access to MAP does not "compromise" young women's "contraceptive or sexual behavior." If the FDA is really so concerned with safe sex, it should push men to wear condoms, not punish women by withholding birth control. The MAP Conspiracy opposes any age restriction to the Morning-After Pill because it effectively makes MAP a behind-the-counter (or pharmacist-prescribed) drug, requiring that women show a pharmacist their ID before getting this safe, effective contraceptive. Besides the sexist insult of being carded for birth control, an age restriction also means that women have to find pharmacies that stock MAP and pharmacists willing to fill their prescriptions within the first 24 hours after sex, when MAP is most effective in preventing pregnancy. In contrast, full over-the-counter status would mean that MAP would be found on the shelf next to medicines like aspirin and could be sold in convenience stores and gas stations. "The FDA's proposed age restriction is just another in a long list of delay tactics the agency has used over the past three years," Tummino said. "Feminists will continue to pressure the FDA until we get the Morning-After Pill over-the-counter for all women." ****NOVEMBER 8,
2006
Judge Cites "Strong Showing of Bad Faith" by Government as Grounds for Granting Further Discovery
U.S. Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky ruled that the Center for Reproductive Rights can subpoena White House documents as part of its lawsuit (Tummino vs. von Eschenbach) against the Food and Drug Administration for its failure to make Plan B available without a prescription for women of all ages. Concluding on November 6 that the Center demonstrated a "strong showing of bad faith" by the FDA in its decision-making around Plan B, Judge Pohorelsky also rejected the government's request to block the deposition of former White House policy aide Jay Lefkowitz, and granted the Center's request to depose deputy director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs, Dr. Sandra Kweder. The Center will subpoena the White House for the following documents: communications between the Domestic Policy Office of the White House and select employees of the FDA regarding Plan B between April 2003 and September 2006. "We are pleased that the court is not only allowing us to further explore seemingly inappropriate White House involvement in the FDA's decision making, but is also recognizing that our claims of the agency's bad faith are well founded," said Nancy Northup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "Our months of discovery have revealed that FDA scientists attempted to carry out a scientific approval process, but higher level officials made a mockery of that process, by ignoring the results and bowing to political pressures." In his ruling, Judge Pohorelsky found "five categories of information to be reflective of improper FDA behavior:
On August 23, the FDA announced its decision to make Plan B available without a prescription, but only for women 18 and older and only behind the pharmacy counter. The Center for Reproductive Rights is still pursuing its lawsuit to ensure that the Plan B is granted true over-the-counter status and made widely available to women of all ages, particularly the most vulnerable population, young women.
In 2001, the Center filed suit against the FDA in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The suit was filed on behalf of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and individuals from a grassroots advocacy group, the Morning-After Pill Conspiracy.
**** The Morning-After Pill Conspiracy (a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that women often have to get the pills from a friend , thus conspiring to break the law just to get the Morning-After Pill) is a coalition of feminist organizations leading the grassroots movement to make the Morning-After Pill an over-the-counter drug. Our campaign uses speak-outs and civil disobedience to highlight the injustice of the prescription requirement and to show that women are the real experts on why women need unrestricted access to the Morning-After Pill. The MAP Conspiracy was founded by Gainesville Area (FL) National Organization for Women; Florida NOW Young Feminist Task Force; University of Florida Campus NOW; Gainesville Women's Liberation; the Women's Liberation Birth-Control Project (formerly New York NOW Reproductive Rights Task Force); and Redstockings Allies and Veterans. http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/dose.html Non-aspiration or non-surgical abortion is commonly referred
to as “medical abortion.” However, this phrase has led to confusion
among both providers and the public, as the term “medical” is often
associated with physician-based practices and/or medical necessity.
“Medication abortion” more accurately represents the family of safe and
effective drug-based methods that can terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
The modifier “medication” clarifies the type of abortion and remains
consistent with the broader lexicon. In order to provide clear and
accurate information about pregnancy termination options, we have
chosen to use the phrase “medication abortion” throughout
www.medicationabortion.com. Medication abortion, also known as non-aspiration or
non-surgical abortion, refers to a family of safe and effective methods
for terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Worldwide, three methods of
medication abortion are currently in practice for early pregnancy
termination: 1) mifepristone and misoprostol; 2) methotrexate and
misoprostol; and 3) misoprostol alone. www.medicationabortion.com
provides information on all three methods. The Truth About Abortion, NAF's fact sheet series, has just
been revised. For the latest research-based facts on a broad range of
topics, including medical abortion, abortion and breast cancer, and the
safety of abortion, go to www.prochoice.org, and click on 'Abortion Facts.'
These revisions are just the first step in revamping and updating our
series. Myths abound on abortion, and NAF's scientifically accurate
fact sheets help policy makers, women considering abortion, and
reporters distinguish between fact and fiction. Please check the NAF
fact sheets that you use in your work, and be sure you are using the
most up-to-date version. From the National Women's Law Center: NWLC has released a guide to the state contraceptive equity laws: Contraceptive Equity Laws in Your State: Know Your Rights -- Use Your Rights. It contains a summary of each of the laws, plus information on how to contact the appropriate state agency and (if necessary) file a complaint, along with direct links to the state agencies and their complaint forms. Thus, an individual in one of these states can simply click on the name of her state and then click again on the complaint form, fill it out, and (often electronically) send it in. You can access the Guide at www.nwlc.org/pdf/ConCovStateGuide2003.pdf. This Guide is a companion piece to the Center's materials
explaining other rights and remedies, under the federal and state laws
against sex discrimination in the workplace, that can also be invoked
to obtain contraceptive coverage. These include Take Action:
Get Your We hope that you find these materials useful and that you will help spread the word about them. If you have any questions, please contact Virginia Davis or Judy Appelbaum at NWLC. The RCRC is
very pleased to announce the publication of two new resources
especially for pro-choice people of faith - Apply Our
Hearts to Wisdom
These wonderful resources can be ordered for free via email (they will be sent via attachment as a PDF document), or for $15 for hardcopies, plus 10% S&H. To order, send an email to Rabbi Bonnie Margulis at bmargulis@rcrc.org or fill out and send in the form below to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 1130, Washington DC, 20005, 202-628-7716 (fax). Summary: Adolescents should be encouraged to seek their parents’ advice when facing difficult choices regarding family planning and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). However, the government cannot mandate health family communication where it doesn’t already exist. Laws mandating parental notice or consent actually harm the young women they purport to protect by increasing illegal and self-induced abortion, family violence, suicide, later abortions, and unwanted childbirth. Even in states without mandatory parental consent or notice requirements, the majority of young women consult their parents when seeking an abortion. Access to confidential reproductive health services is a critical component in addressing the reproductive health crisis facing American youth. March for Women’s Lives
A beautiful T-Shirt in honor of the April 25th March in D.C. has been designed by 4 women in Pasco NOW. We are very proud of this shirt. We are making it available whether you were there for the record-breaking march, or so that you can show your sisterhood. The shirt is 50/50 with purple on white. Please make your checks payable to: PASCO NOW, P.O. BOX 1281, New Port Richey, FL. 34656 Small, Med. Large, Ex-Large: $15.00 includes postage 2XX and 3XXX: $17.00 includes postage Contact NOW, Doris at 727-845-7100, email
©2007 Florida National Organization For Women. All rights reserved. Voice Mail Number: 1888-5-FLANOW or 1-888-535-2669 Florida NOW President Jessica McCaffrey
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NOW affirms that reproductive
rights are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of
choice. NOW fully supports access to safe and legal abortion, to
effective birth control and emergency contraception, to reproductive
health services and education for all women. We oppose attempts to
restrict these rights through legislation, regulation or Constitutional
amendment. 
