By Iris Somberg
Culture and Media Institute
April 23, 2009

Should parents be concerned over a new ruling allowing minors to take a pill to avoid pregnancy the morning-after having unprotected sex? The media doesn’t think so. Ignoring parental control and health issues, their coverage has focused on a court ruling that said the FDA rule limiting the Plan B pill to girls 18 and older was based on politics, not science, and that it may reduce teen pregnancy. CBS and ABC barely managed the most cursory mentions of concern about allowing teens more access to powerful birth control drugs than they often have to aspirin.

Plan B, previously a prescription drug made available over the counter to women over the age of 18 in 2006, has an 89 percent chance of stopping an unwanted pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. A Federal District Court ruling in New York said the FDA age limitation was based on politics, not science. The FDA has decided not to appeal the decision.

The April 23 CBS Early Show had its medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton on to discuss “the pros and cons” Of making the pill available to 17-year-olds. The pros? The rate of teen pregnancy will be reduced. “I say why stop at 17? It’s not only 17 year-olds who get pregnant…” she added. The cons? Well, she only mentions that unprotected sex can lead to STDs, so teens should still be careful and go see a doctor to follow-up.

ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson on April 22 featured Susan Wood, who quit her job at the FDA to protest the age restriction of over the counter sales “There is no rationale for an age restriction,” She said.

The next day, Good Morning America didn’t even acknowledge any controversy. Instead, Deborah Roberts just said, “The FDA has decided that 17-year-olds should be able to get the morning after pill without a prescription. The Bush administration had set the age limit to 18. It will now take several months before the drug can be re-labeled and put on the shelves.”

In none of these stories were parents of 17 year-old girls asked if it was appropriate for their children to be able to take Plan B without their consent.

But there is no shortage of voices of opposition to the move. The Family Research Council issued a press release, and Concerned Women for America’s Wendy Wright was quoted in several news papers saying, "Parents should be furious at the FDA's complete disregard of parental rights and the safety of minors."

In print media, readers must get all the way to the end of the articles on the topic to know there were dissenting viewpoints.  

News agencies have decided to focus on how teen pregnancy rates may go down and how a judge overturned political consideration that should not interfere with science. The media decided to ignore parent’s rights and accept that they are now completely cut out of the process, leaving minors to do as they wish.

Iris Somberg is an intern at the Culture and Media Institute.