The FDA yesterday indicated that Plan B emergency contraception could be available over-the-counter soon, promising to act on a new application from the manufacturer within weeks.
Senator Joe Lieberman, who opposed the availability of emergency contraception, even for rape victims, at hospitals whose beliefs he placed more value on than that of the individual woman seeking emergency contraception, was defeated in the Democratic Primary for a fourth term as a US Senator.
The FDA's reputation as an independent agency serving the best interest of the public has been sullied as it allowed itself to be dragged deeper and deeper into the political morass that allows ideology to replace scientific fact and provable health data.
I have spent a lot of time these last couple of months working with my colleagues at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) and with advocates, researchers, and people living with HIV around the world on the launch of a new campaign to dramatically increase access to the female condom.
During this time, I found myself mentioning the female condom and the campaign (Prevention Now! www.preventionnow.net) to my friends on more than one occasion. These well-meaning and pretty well-informed, progressive people (many of them global health activists) couldn’t figure out why I would be spending so much time on this campaign.
It seems like for the past several years Americans have become more polarized by a great divide deepening between the right and the left, conservative and liberal, red states and blue states. The myth of a dramatic culture war has become pervasive in the popular consciousness. But that's exactly what it is - a myth.
A poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows that most Americans fall in the middle on many hot issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and other controversial social issues. Though the country is still split on the topic of abortion (51% think it should be available compared to 46% who think it should be illegal), 66% of Americans believe that we need to find a middle ground. This solid majority willing to consider opposing views comes from a varied background - including different religions, political party, race, age, and geographical location.
In the state that is home to some of the most ardent anti-choice activists - Focus on the Family and an incredibly outspoken Catholic bishop - Coloradans rejected a renewed attempt to limit access to abortion services. Despite efforts in every parish and beyond to collect enough signatures to get their measure on the November ballot, they just couldn't cross the threshold.
Last week, in preparation for the international AIDS conference that kicks off in Toronto on August 13, Plan International released a report called "Circle of Hope: A Global Framework for Tackling HIV and AIDS." Among other findings, the report highlights that marriage is often more of a risk than a remedy for women seeking to protect themselves against HIV and that fragile economies mixed with gender discrimination make abstinence an unsustainable strategy for women, who also find it close to impossible to insist on their partners' fidelity or condom use. The report exposes the Bush administration's panacea of "ABC" as the woefully inadequate strategy it has always been. Its findings won't come as a surprise to those who deal on a daily basis with the complex realities of HIV/AIDS.
Public health advocates in California have been working to prevent the spread of disease among injection-drug users by making needles available at pharmacies without a prescription. Unfortunately, when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors had the opportunity to legalize sales of needles last year, they gave in to misinformation and fear that increasing access to clean needles would increase drug use. Studies have found that increased syringe access decreases infection such as HIV and Hepatitis C - not that it encourages people to do more drugs.
When a government agency makes a decision, they complete an unbiased analysis based on scientific data... right? I mean, the FDA decides whether Americans have access to various medications - so one would think that they must really be grounded in science and not be influenced by little things like politics. No?
Court documents recently released by the Center for Reproductive Rights confirm that FDA officials decided against approving Plan B for over-the-counter use WELL BEFORE the data review was finished by agency scientists.
"Everybody has strong opinions... There are many other arguments people could give you. I think the most important thing, which is what we see here today, is we've got to be able to have these discussions and listen to other people's opinions and not go so crazy," said Barbara Walters, host of The View, after a segment she introduced to discuss Plan B was high-jacked by the anti-choice passion of guest panelist and GOP pinup Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Editorial Note: With this post Rewire welcomes its newest staff blogger, Tyler LePard. Tyler has worked in and volunteered with a variety of reproductive health organizations, as well as in other progressive causes. She has her BA from Wesleyan University and a Masters in Public Policy from George Washington Univeristy. We are pleased she has joined our team and we know you will look forward to reading her posts.
If you happened to read a press release from Instead Sciences, Inc. on Business Wire a couple of days ago, you may have gotten very excited about the first approved microbicide about to hit the market. But hold on a minute - settle down and prepare for disappointment. This was just a misunderstanding - a tweaking, if you will, by some PR people.
When Tommy Thompson (the Chair of Instead Sciences, Inc.) said "Amphora -- which already has FDA safety clearance for human use -- is in the best position to be the first approved microbicide", apparently what he really meant is that Amphora has been approved as a sexual lubricant... and that they might know something about its effectiveness in preventing infection (such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhea) by the year 2010. MAYBE.
