New York Times, May 12, 2004

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

The Food and Drug Administration's decision to refuse over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill Plan B ("U.S. Rules Morning-After Pill Can't Be Sold Over the Counter," front page, May 7) is another example of politics trumping reality and science.

In the United States nearly 900,000 teenage girls become pregnant every year. Eight in 10 of these girls say their pregnancy was unintended.

Even more distressing, about 19,000 girls who are 14 or younger become pregnant annually. They are physically and emotionally ill prepared.

In the United States each year, 53 out of every 1,000 15-to-19-year-old girls give birth. These girls are more likely to drop out of school and have low-birth-weight babies with subsequent health problems.

Isn't it time to stop playing politics with these girls' lives?

ADRIENNE GERMAIN
President
International Women's Health Coalition
New York, NY

Originally published in the New York Times, May 12, 2004. Reprinted with permission.

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