Judge Edward Korman struck down a decision by Kathleen Sebelius to ban dispensing to minors over-the-counter “Emergency Contraception” known as Plan B. His decision is bad for for medicine, bad for women, and bad for parents.
Plan B is made of a synthetic, non-biodegradable, steroid suspected of causing cancer in the smaller daily dose commonly known as ‘the pill.’ When taken as a child oral contraception is linked to increasing the risk of the worst form of breast cancer by over 500%! The kicker is that Plan B represents a dosage that is 50x higher than the suggested daily dose of the pill. And we want to give it to girls and call it reproductive health? Sibelius banned its use for minors with good reason. It is irresponsible to give this drug to anyone let alone girls without physician involvement and parental consent. The doctor/patient relationship is designed primarily to help a person heal or maintain their health. True healthcare requires education hence the Latin root for doctor is the verb ‘to teach.’ Only informed patients are empowered patients. The judge’s decision totally extracts the doctor from patient care and undermines a women’s long term health.
And what of parental rights? So now we have Judges complicit with political agendas not only intervening in medicine but also in the care of children? If Andrew Cuomo gets his abortion expansion bill passed it would make access to contraception (including this Plan B) a fundamental human right. Coupled with Korman’s decision this would mean that your 12 year old daughter could go to the school nurse and be given a heavy dose of a cancer-causing drug without your knowledge or consent. This lowers the standard of care for women. How does this represent Cuomo’s precious women’s equality? These drugs are simply the female version of drugs that when taken by male athletes to enhance their performance lands them in jail.
Then there is sexual abuse. A lot of minors are pregnant because of child sexual abuse. Judge Korman’s decision will only serve to cover it up further.
This decision seems like it is only good for politicians, pharmaceutical companies, and child sex abusers.