Plan B, politics and parents

Guests:  Jessica Arons and Joan Vennochi

Back in 2011, in a controversial decision, Health and Human Services Secretary Katherine Sebelius announced that the morning after pill, known as Plan B One-Step, would be available over-the-counter only to women 17 years of age and older. In doing so, she overruled an FDA committee’s recommendations that the pill was safe for women of all ages. Last month, saying that the Obama administration put politics ahead of science by ignoring the FDA findings, a federal judge overturned the HHS mandate and ordered that the drug be made available without a prescription to all women regardless of their age. And just last week, the FDA announced that the drug would be available without a prescription for girls as young as age 15 as long as they have ID. In this hour of Radio Times, we’ll trace the complicated history of emergency contraception, explore the politically charged issue, and ask if girls as young as 15 should have access the morning-after pill without seeing a health provider with JESSICA ARONS of the Center for American Progress and Boston Globe columnist JOAN VENNOCHI.