Apologies in advance if this has already been addressed in previous diaries (or I'm simply the last person here to realize this), but it just occured to me that there might be a deeper connection between the FDA's refusal last summer to approve of over-the-counter sales of the Plan B pill (the so-called "Morning After" birth control pill)--despite overwhelming scientific evidence of its safety, PLUS a provision that requires that girls 16 and under to obtain a doctor's prescription to get this pill--and the recent string of stories about pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for it on religious and moral grounds. I was wondering if there has been anything in the press recently that tries to make this connection.
I made this potential connection after watching a segment on tonight's 60 Minutes about the FDA's refusal last summer to make Plan B available OTC, and of likely (i.e. all but certain to anyone who understands how this administration operates) political pressure applied to the FDA to come to this decision (or, more precisely, to defer this decision indefinitely, thereby preventing Plan B from being sold OTC to even women over 16), on moral and religious grounds (i.e. pandering to their religious right base).
(Incidentally, I found the explanation that Plan B shouldn't be sold OTC because it would encourage young women to have sex to be kind of curious, as it implies that neither should condoms, Details magazine and Angelina Jolie DVDs be sold OTC as they might encourage young men to have sex--as if they needed encouragement as it was!)
Could political pressure have been applied to pharmacists as well--especially in GOP-friendly chain stores like Target and Wal-Mart--to refuse to fill valid prescriptions for Plan B, thereby making it incredibly difficult for women of ANY age to obtain it even with a valid prescription, especially in more rural areas where most pharmacies are in these chain stores, in which case obtaining Plan B in time for it to be effective might be all but impossible? I've seen no actual proof of this (although neither have I gone in search of it, I must admit), but it certainly seems to conform to this administration's well-known MO of covering all bases, however covertly, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that it was true. Has anyone come across such evidence?
Again, this is pure speculation, but based on years of observing and reading about how BushCo operate, I wouldn't at all be surprised. When they go after a goal that they care about (and they rarely go after ones that they don't, as Katrina finally demonstrated to the public), they go at it full throttle, covering every conceivable angle and approach. So it makes perfect sense that there might be a link here.
Incidentally, what's the legality of a pharmacist's refusal to fill a legitimate prescription? A pharmacist interviewed in the 60 minutes segment claimed that they have the right to refuse any prescription for any reason, without explanation. I'm no lawyer but this doesn't sound legal to me. Imagine if the prescription was for a life-saving antibiotic or medication and because the pharmacist refused to fill it because they didn't like the customer, the person getting the prescription filled ended up dying. Of course, this usually wouldn't apply to Plan B, but that's not really the point here.