Say Anything Blog

Hmm...

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal regulators have not only cleared the way for over-the-counter sales of a morning-after pill. They've also eliminated the hurdle that threatened to sink President Bush's pick to head the Food and Drug Administration.

Two senators who had blocked Andrew von Eschenbach's (ESH'-ehn-bahks) nomination have withdrawn their objections since an F-D-A compromise was announced today. . . .

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Patty Murray say they still want the F-D-A to revisit the age restrictions. But their statement says the ruling is "real progress" toward giving all women access to emergency contraception.

That last bit is interesting.

People who are under the age of 18 can't vote. The can't buy tobacco products, they can't purchase or look at porn, there are restrictions on the amount of time they can work and the type of jobs they can work, they can't enter into certain types of contracts and they're still under the control of their parents. Their parents, in fact, are responsible for them meaning that the parents can often be held accountable for the actions of their children.

So why then, when it comes to things like abortions and this morning after pill, do people like Hillary Clinton insist on allowing minors free access and excluding parents? I think we can all agree that any young girl seeking an abortion or this morning after pill is obviously engaging in risky sexual behavior, should that child be allowed to engage in that behavior and then make decisions that will likely alter the rest of her life without involving her parents? Or, in the case of this pill, even a doctor?

I think that's total nonsense. If we hold that parents are responsible for their children (and we'd better all agree on that point or this country is in serious trouble) then we also have to agree that children shouldn't be allowed access to abortions or emergency contraceptives without their parent's knowledge.