Politics

Pro-life group launches campaign to restrict sale of the ‘morning after pill’ to minors

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Students for Life is launching a new campaign this week aimed at pressuring lawmakers into reapplying age restrictions on the sale of the “morning after pill.”

In June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of the Plan B One-step, or the “morning after pill,” without age restrictions. Prior to this summer, women could purchase Plan B without a prescription only if they were 17 or older.

Plan B contains high levels of the hormones in birth control and can prevent a pregnancy up to 72 hours after sex.

According to Students for Life, the decision to effectively cut parents, guardians and physicians out of the equation is just not right. The pro-life group laments there are more regulations on the sale of Sudafed than Plan B.

“In efforts to supposedly ‘help women’ and give them ‘access,’ the abortion industry and their leaders at Planned Parenthood have completely disregarded a woman’s health in the process,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement. “Young girls are able to purchase an abortion-inducing drug without their parents’ permission but aren’t able to buy cold medicine. The logic makes zero sense.”

In order to highlight the legal discrepancy, Students for Life took “undercover” video of what happens at drug stores when 15-year old girls try to purchase Sudafed — which can be used to make crystal meth — and Plan B at the same time.

“Students for Life visited 30 stores in six states in their investigation and found evidence in every store that indicates Plan B is more accessible than common cold medicine and can be purchased by anyone,” Hawkins told The Daily Caller.

The group says its Sudafed video is be the first in a series aimed at pressuring lawmakers on the national and state levels to apply restrictions on the sale of Plan B — specifically prohibiting the sale of Plan B without a prescription to minors without parental consent and applying conscience protections to allow employees to not have to sell the drug if they have moral objections.

“While the sale of Plan B is legal, it is in no way safe or controlled as it takes the parent and doctor out of the young girl’s healthcare choices,” Hawkins said. “This legislation will aim to control the sale of the drug as well as provide conscience protections to those employees who have moral objections.”

Students for Life is also calling on supporters to sign a petition telling big drug stores to stop selling Plan B until restrictions are in place.

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