FDA increases age restrictions for birth control

Many birth control advertisements have two things in common: A happy woman and a long list of risks.

By law, those risks must be conveyed, and in December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that the labels for Yaz and Yasmin needed to better communicate the high risks of blood clots.

In the same month, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius denied an FDA review that said a new brand of a morning-after pill is safe for women of all ages. Right now, all emergency contraceptives require a prescription for women younger than 17.

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research confirmed that the new pill, Plan B One-Step, “was safe and effective in adolescent females, that adolescent females understood the product was not for routine use, and that the product would not protect them against sexually transmitted diseases.” Sebelius said, however, that there was not enough data confirming the safety for women of all ages.

In a press release, Sebelius said “it is common knowledge that there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age.”

Critics say Sebelius acted on political motives due to a new conservative bloc in the administration. Some worry that Sebelius’ and the FDA’s rulings will negatively affect women’s perception of birth control, as well as girls’ access to emergency contraceptives.

“The key element that is missing in all of these discussions is the need for comprehensive sexuality education for all children, starting in grade K through 12 (and beyond),” said Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin, clinical associate professor in applied health science in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

Laughlin, who has been conducting sexual health research for almost 20 years, said if schools, parents and community members gave medically accurate sexual health information from the time a child is born, teen pregnancy rates and other sexual health issues would not occur.

“This is another way to restrict access to sexual health information and products, and again the issues surrounding teen sexuality are minimized and ignored,” she said.

Yaz and Yasmin contain drospierenone, which increases the risks for blood clots, strokes and heart attacks for women who smoke. The risk of high blood clots, which the FDA estimated as being 10 in 10,000 women per year for those who take drospierenone-containing drugs, is highest for the first year of use.

IU junior Jessica Townsend, 21, took Yaz the first time her doctor put her on birth control.

Townsend said she switched to a different birth control when her doctor first informed her of the high risks of Yaz.

“If they know it’s happening and they know that there are ones that don’t come with as high of a risk that they can prescribe instead, I’m still being looked out for and I still feel safe taking it,” she said.

IU sophomore Jordan Dunmead, 19, said she started taking birth control when she was a sophomore in high school and that she was “somewhat aware of the risks of taking it.”

“My doctor and mom were both very informative, and for the age that I started taking it, I think I had a good grasp of what could happen,” she said.

The limited access of Plan B, one form of emergency contraception that prevents pregnancy within 72 hours of unprotected sex, was first approved by the FDA in 1999 for prescription use by women of all ages. Some say it contributes to the high rate of unplanned teen pregnancies. 

In 2005, the pregnancy rates for 15- to 17-year-olds in Indiana was 20.5 per 1,000, and the pregnancy rates for 18- to 19-year-olds was 78.8 per 1,000 females of that age group.

“This is a missed opportunity to reduce teen pregnancy and abortion rates,” said Chrystal Struben, vice president of development, communications and education for Planned Parenthood of Indiana. “Until the availability restriction is lifted and access is made more available, women of all ages will still encounter significant barriers in accessing the full range of contraceptive options available to them.”

Pregnancy rates were also highest among women with incomes below the federal poverty level between 1994 and 2001, according to a report from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

“It will certainly limit their access,” Sturben said of the Sebelius ruling. “By limiting access to contraception, women, especially low-income women, are at risk for unintended pregnancy.”

Townsend said women of all ages should have access to emergency contraceptives because 15- and 16-year-olds clearly do have sex and get pregnant.

“The one thing we cannot deny is that teens have sexual feelings,” Sherwood-Laughlin said. “Constant education about these issues is what’s most important.”