Thursday, June 23, 2005

NY: where females can access medication when necessary

State Senators in Albany, NY passed legislation yesterday that would allow females to obtain access to emergency contraception without a doctor's visit or prescription, and without the need for minors to obtain parental consent.
"Today, science has triumphed over politics," said Kelli Conlin, executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League Pro-Choice New York. "The state Legislature granted the women of New York greater access to birth control and gave them a second chance to prevent unintended pregnancy."
The measure now moves on to Gov. George Pataki to be signed or vetoed. The legislation allows dispensation by any pharmacist, nurse or midwife under a blanket prescription (the end-user is not identified) from a physician. The sponsor of the proposal, Nicholas Spano indicated the reason he introduced the legislation was due to
"the frequent difficulties encountered in obtaining medical appointments at offices with limited hours, long waits or inconvenient locations."
The "Pro-life" movement is, as expected, apoplectic about the legislation climing the law will put women and children at risk.

Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference said "We think it is going to undermine families. As a parent, it's really scary that 14-year-old kids can get these high doses of hormones virtually over the counter."
Maybe Gallagher and her comrades should have thought about this possibility before they started to actively interject their personal objections to contraception into the medical treatment of women and stop fighting comprehensive sex education programs that can help the "at risk" kids make better decisions about how to protect themselves a priori when they choose to take another risk despite being told sex is only for marriage.


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