August 15, 2006 Support the Center now!
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THE CENTER WILL FIGHT FOR EASIER ACCESS TO
"MORNING-AFTER PILL" FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES, DESPITE
FDA'S LATEST ANNOUNCEMENT
In a surprise move on July 31, the Food and Drug Administration
announced that it might soon make Plan B, also known as the
"morning-after pill," available without a prescription to women
over 18, and requested a meeting with the drug's manufacturer
to discuss the application. The FDA has delayed making any
decision on Plan B for more than three years. Why the sudden
and supposed change of heart? We can point to two possible
explanations: Only one day after this unexpected announcement,
the Senate was scheduled to vote on the nomination of the FDA's
acting commissioner, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach. But the
vote was only scheduled to happen if the FDA issued a decision
on Plan B. (Democratic senators had promised to block Dr. von
Eschenbach's confirmation until such time.) And only two days
after the Senate vote, a New York court was scheduled to address
the Center's request to subpoena all written White House
documents regarding Plan B. "While we hope the FDA has finally
decided to stop playing politics with Plan B, we remain skeptical,"
says Nancy Northup, president of the Center. "We will push ahead
with our request to subpoena the White House and continue to pursue our case against the FDA until Plan B is
available over-the-counter to women of all ages."
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TEEN ENDANGERMENT ACT PASSED BY U.S. SENATE, CENTER PREPARES CHALLENGE
On July 25, the U.S. Senate passed anti-abortion bill, S. 403,
(deceptively named the "Child Custody Protection Act"). S. 403
makes it a federal crime for any person, other than a parent or
guardian, to knowingly transport a teenager across a state line to
obtain an abortion, unless she has already fulfilled the requirements
of her home state law requiring parental consent or notification or
judicial authorization of the abortion. "Far from providing protection,
this legislation endangers the health of young women and
criminalizes grandmothers, aunts and sisters for simply helping a
loved one in a highly personal time of need, says Nancy Northup,
president of the Center. "The Center will vigorously challenge this
legislation in court if it is signed into law..."
Read More > >
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NINE NEW ARABIC LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS ON OUR WEBSITE
Our Arabic website, one of the only online resources for
reproductive rights information in Arabic, has expanded to include
nine new publications on a range of reproductive health and rights
topics, including contraception, abortion, female genital mutilation,
issues affecting adolescents, refugees, women with disabilities, and
HIV-positive women, among many others.
Visit the Arabic version of our website > >
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From August 13 - 18, the 16th Annual International AIDS
Conference will convene in Toronto. As governments around the
world respond to the AIDS pandemic, pregnant women are
increasingly at the center of global prevention efforts. The Center
seeks to ensure that these women's reproductive rights are not
ignored. Read the Center's Briefing Paper