DHHS Secretary Bans Sales of Contraceptives to Girls Under 17

Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), announced recently that she will not allow the over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive Plan B to young women under the age of 17.

Her decision directly opposes the recommendations of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the national authority on all things drug- and pharmaceuticals- related. Regardless of what the FDA review found, Sebelius decided to opt against the federal agency's decision.

The announcement was made last week, and understandably got many people upset, both at home and in Congress. A group of 13 Democrat senators, joined by an independent colleague, wrote an open letter to the DHHS Secretary, demanding that the motivation behind her decision be made public.

One of the authors of the letter was FDA Administrator Margaret Hamburg. She and others are very interested in learning what made Sebelius turn down a proposal that would have ensured no unwanted children are born to underage girls.

“We feel strongly that FDA regulations should be based on science. [Please] share with us your specific rationale and the scientific data you relied on for the decision to overrule the FDA recommendation,” Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and his co-signers wrote.

According to the FDA analysis, making the emergency contraceptive available as an over-the-counter prescription was the most scientifically sound decision. The risks associated with doing so are minimal, but the rewards far outweigh any drawback, ScienceNow reports.

Emergency contraception should be readily available to anyone who wants to use it at a moment's notice, representatives from non-governmental organizations believe. They say that keeping anyone away from these drugs could result in unwanted pregnancies.

The issue with the United States in general – when it comes to things such as this – is that many people are convinced that such measures encourage teenage promiscuity among girls. Other things to do the same – in their eyes – include the HPV vaccine.

However, many argue that ethical or moral concerns should not be allowed to interfere with doing what is right, regardless of whether we're talking about not having an unwanted child, or developing cervical cancer.