Well, that would be Sunday, wouldn't it?
"Morning-after drug must be sold over counter to all, judge orders" by Deborah Kotz | Globe Staff, April 05, 2013
Consumers may soon find Plan B emergency contraception on supermarket and drugstore shelves next to condoms, tampons, and pregnancy tests after a federal judge ruled Friday that the product must be made available for purchase over the counter, without any age restrictions.
In a 59-page decision, US District Judge Edward Korman of New York criticized the Obama administration for making an “obviously political” decision to keep teens age 16 and under from purchasing the product without a prescription even though it’s currently “among the safest drugs sold over-the-counter.”
If the federal government chooses not to appeal the decision, the US Food and Drug Administration must, within 30 days, allow pharmacies to stock Plan B One-Step on their shelves, rather than behind the counter, and to sell it without verifying the buyer’s age with an ID check.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Obama administration plans to file an appeal.
Women’s health organizations cheered the decision, calling it an “enormous victory.”
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“We’ve been in the court with the FDA for eight years despite mountains of evidence that emergency contraception is safe and effective for all ages,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a nonprofit group that was one of the plaintiffs in the court case.
But critics of the decision said that young teens might indiscriminately incorrectly use the morning after pill as a method of birth control and that it might encourage sexual promiscuity. “The decision will give young girls a serious drug,” said Anne Fox, president of the Massachusetts Citizens for Life, an antiabortion group. “I think it’s very irresponsible.”
I'm sorry, readers. I don't like to talk during sex.
The Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group based in Washington, argued that the decision could lead to more sexually transmitted diseases or leave teens vulnerable to pressure to take Plan B even if they don’t want to. “The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls,” said the group in a statement.
Now I'm afraid to have it and have gone limp (frown).
President Obama has argued in the past that Plan B should continue to have an age restriction, since a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old should not be able to go into a drugstore and, “alongside bubble gum or batteries, be able to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect.” His press secretary indicated on Friday that the president still holds this view.
Emergency contraception contains high doses of the female hormone progestin. Research suggests it works by preventing the fertilization of an egg by sperm, though some religious opponents contend there’s a possibility that fertilized eggs could be expelled from the uterus, making it a form of abortion.
The pill needs to be taken within three days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy, but it is most effective if taken within the first 24 hours.
“It’s a very brief window of time, and women need to get access to it within that window,” said Marty Walz, chief executive officer at the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. “Women had to go when the pharmacy was open, and in rural areas especially, that’s not always easy.”
While the product can cause mild side effects such as nausea, abdominal pain, and breast tenderness, it hasn’t been found to cause any life-threatening reactions.
Not that they know of yet.
“This is one of the safest drugs out there,” said Dr. Susan Wood, an associate professor of health policy at George Washington University School of Public Health. “You can’t overdose on it.’’
Oh, so it is just like marijuana then.
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While providing easier access to emergency contraception will likely increase its use by women and teens, Teva Pharmaceuticals One-Step’s $50 price could still present a barrier for teens and low-income women. Insurance plans typically don’t cover over-the-counter products, and the Obama administration has indicated that emergency contraception, even by prescription, doesn’t fall into the category of contraception that the federal Affordable Care Act mandates must be covered without any co-payments.
I thought Obama was caring for you kids?
Gee, he can dole out billions here and there with his clean energy and brain mapping, along with the funding of other nation's needs in order to maintain empire abroad or care for refugees created by our wars, blah, blah, blah, but he can't find $50 to help end an unwanted pregnancy (when he has ended so many wanted ones with his drone missile strikes and bombings of liberation) for you kids so you can still have a future?
The federal government is expected to release its final rules for coverage of birth control methods such as oral contraception and intrauterine devices within the next few weeks.
“We’re worried that the cost might be too much for those under age 17,” said Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a University of Washington pediatrician who co-authored an American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 position paper that supported lifting the restrictions on emergency contraception. “We’ve won the battle but we don’t want to lose the war.”
Wow.
Ever notice nearly everything in my newspaper is framed as war?
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And about those tits:
"FDA OK’s breast cancer drug created in part by ImmunoGen" by Robert Weisman | Globe Staff, February 22, 2013
Federal regulators approved a highly anticipated breast cancer drug Friday, two and a half years after they sparked patient protests by refusing to grant it a speedy review.
The drug, which will be sold under the brand name Kadcyla, is considered a breakthrough treatment because it deploys a potent toxin that combines with an existing drug, Herceptin, to kill breast cancer cells. It could initially benefit as many as 15,000 patients who have a particularly aggressive form of the disease.
Kadcyla will be marketed by the Genentech unit of Swiss drug maker Roche AG, which launched Herceptin in the 1990s as one of the first personalized medicines.
Related: New Jersey Roaches
They have moved on and taken 1,000 jobs with them -- but don't you fear, 'murkn, the great AmeriKan economic recovery remains intact!
But key components of Kadcyla were developed by Waltham biotechnology company ImmunoGen Inc., including a proprietary cancer-killing agent and a “linker” that binds the medicine to a type of chemotherapy drug.
“This is certainly good news for a lot of patients who have run out of options,” said Phil McCartin of Hanson, whose wife, Lorraine Heidke-McCartin, has taken the drug for more than two years through a “compassionate use” program that allows some people who didn’t participate in clinical trials to get access to experimental drugs....
I guess that's enough foreplay for you.
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I regret every day I buy a Globe.
