ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Innovative Electronic PSA Urges Youth to Make Their Voices Heard on Emergency Contraceptive Issue

New Research Debunks FDA Assertion of Irresponsible Use by Youth

Washington, DC (January 11) Advocates for Youth today launched the My Voice Counts! Emergency Contraception Campaign, a youth-led advocacy effort to make emergency contraception (EC) available without a prescription for all young women in need.

"A Puppet Parable of Politics and Polemics," is the electronic public service announcement (ePSA) that headlines this irreverent look at the current EC situation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last year, ultra conservatives in Congress pressured the FDA to keep EC difficult to obtain—especially for young women. Conservatives argued against fact that widespread availability of EC would promote promiscuity.

Research published in the January 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that young women who had easy access to EC were more likely to use it in a crisis than were those who needed to visit their doctor or to speak with a pharmacist to get EC. Further, the study confirmed that easy access to emergency contraception did not increase unprotected sexual activity among the young participants.

Yet, in spring 2004, the FDA denied an application by Barr Laboratories to take Plan B® (the only dedicated brand of emergency contraception available in the United States) over-the-counter. In late January 2005, the FDA is scheduled to rule on Barr's second application, which would make EC available without a doctor's prescription, but only for young women age 16 or older, by using "dual status" drug labeling.

"The FDA should follow the recommendations of the American Medical Association, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and its own scientific advisors and make EC available without a doctor's prescription for all women, including young women," states the youth-authored petition that is linked to the ePSA. "Together, we the undersigned demand that the FDA recognize that its action to restrict access to EC subjects American women, especially young women, to increased risks of unwanted pregnancy and increases the need for abortion."

Denying over-the-counter access to EC for younger women creates barriers for older teens as well as those under 16," argued James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. "Recent research clearly indicates that these barriers are not only unnecessary, but misguided."

"If the FDA were to approve EC with dual status labeling, EC would not be available over-the-counter as the research suggests it should be, but would be behind-the-counter," continued Wagoner. "Women wishing to purchase EC would have to ask a pharmacist or a clerk for assistance, and young women would need to provide proof of age. This, not because EC is unsafe, but because the FDA and ultra conservatives in the Administration and in Congress are determined to create barriers to access—once again putting ideology before the reproductive health needs of women."

In addition to the ePSA, youth activists visiting the site (www.advocatesforyouth.org/ec/) have the opportunity to take action: to educate themselves about emergency contraception, to sign the petition, and to send e-mail to their representatives in Congress and to those involved at the FDA, demanding access to EC for women of all ages.

Young women in more than 30 countries around the world have a better chance of preventing unintended pregnancy than do American women because they can get emergency contraception without a prescription. Taken within five days of unprotected sex, emergency contraception can reduce a woman's chances of pregnancy by about 80 to 85 percent. Experts estimate that timely use of EC in the United States could cut the need for abortion by up to 70 percent.

"It's inexcusable that politics should prevent young women from having every available tool to protect their sexual health," concluded Wagoner. "Ignorance is never an ally in the fight against teenage pregnancy."

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Advocates for Youth is an international, nonprofit organization that creates programs and advocates for policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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