Action memo: Obama administration endangers pregnant teenagers

The Obama administration interfered in a policy that would prevent unintended teen pregnancy. This is not the kind of action we come to expect from a pro-choice administration. Help me tell the Obama administration that it has failed to deliver change – add your name to my letter today. Something like this should not happen with a pro-choice president in the White House. Today, Obama administration officials blocked a change in policy that would have helped prevent unintended teen pregnancies. I’ve already called the White House, but our leaders need to hear from you. Add your name to my letter to express your strong disappointment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was planning to make Plan B®, a brand of emergency contraception, available to all women without a prescription. But at the last minute, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius intervened and blocked the FDA from removing an age restriction on Plan B®. What’s worse is that this interference means a policy put in place by the Bush administration will continue. Add your name to my letter to say that it is unacceptable that this administration chose to follow this path. Plan B® is emergency birth control that works after sex, and could be used, for example, when the condom breaks or in the cases of rape. Medical experts agree that improving access to Plan B® by making it available over the counter for young women could help reduce teen-pregnancy rates. When emergency contraception was first approved for over-the-counter sales, anti-choice politicians in the Bush administration intervened and blocked access to women under 18. Medical experts never stopped advocating to remove the age restriction because Plan B® is proven to be safe for women of all ages. As we predicted, the Bush administration-imposed barrier was unworkable. For example, the rule poses a terrible problem for a young woman who is a survivor of rape or incest and does not have the option of talking with her parents if she is from a violent home or was attacked by a relative. Under the Bush-era policy, many teens still may be blocked from accessing the medication - and could face unintended pregnancies as a result. We had every confidence that this Bush-era policy would come to an end. That’s why today’s news is so shocking. The Obama administration has broken a key promise to the American people that it would base its decisions on sound science and what’s in the best interest of women’s health. Help me tell the Obama administration that it has failed to deliver change – add your name to my letter today. In solidarity,   Nancy Keenan President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

A political organization, NARAL Pro-Choice America is the nation's leading advocate for privacy and a woman's right to choose. Sign up for emails |  Visit our website © Copyright 2011 NARAL Pro-Choice America & NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. All rights reserved.