Last week the United States Food and Drug Administration announced that pharmacies will now be able to sell emergency contraceptives without a prescription.
The Tennessee American Civil Liberties Union applauded the decision as a victory for health care rights.
"The ACLU is committed that ensuring reproductive freedom is vital to providing comprehensive and compassionate healthcare to all Americans," said Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director of the ACLU-TN.
During the 104th Tennessee General Assembly, the ACLU-TN lobbied to pass legislation that would require hospital emergency rooms to provide rape victims with accurate information about emergency contraception.
The bill also required hospital emergency rooms either to provide emergency contraception when requested, or to refer patients to a comprehensive sexual assault provider.
The legislation, sponsored by Memphians, Rep. Beverly Marrero and Sen. Steve Cohen, failed to move forward after several pro-life groups aggressively opposed the bill.
"It is very frustrating to meet with so much political resistance when our goal is to help women who are brutalized receive the full range of emergency services," Weinberg said. The announcement met with both approval and reproach from University of Memphis students.
"I believe that it is an excellent idea," said Kate Mauldin, junior history major. "Women should have access to drugs proven safe by the FDA without running the risk of not having the prescription filled."
Not all students agree.
"Abortions have serious medical and psychological consequences that many groups such as Planned Parenthood fail to mention," said Tiffany Taylor, sophomore law student. "By making the morning after pill so accessible, the decision to have an abortion has become as flippant as deciding to buy cold medicine.
"It does a grave injustice to young women."
According to Planned Parenthood, emergency contraception is not an abortion pill at all. "There are a lot of misconceptions in regard to the Plan B pill (often referred to as the morning after pill)," said Christie Petrone, Community Affairs Manager for Planned Parenthood. "The pill merely prevents pregnancy, if you are already pregnant it will not help you."
According to Petrone, the FDA's ruling is both a huge victory and a disappointment.
"Women now have access to Plan B in a more timely manner, and the sooner they have access the easier it is to prevent unplanned pregnancy and abortion," Petrone said. "We are disappointed in the FDA's decision to not allow the same freedom to women under 18-years of age."
The age limit of 18 is arbitrary and without cause, Petrone said.
"The pill has been proven just as safe for women under 18 as for women who are older," she said.
The ACLU shares the concerns over the age restriction.
"We are displeased with that particular decision because we are attempting to ensure the reproductive rights of all women and we feel that this clause moves towards a violation of privacy protection," Weinberg said. "The ruling remains, however, an important first step."
