Download a PDF of Annie Tummino's Remarks at the event commemorating the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade held at the Center for Constitutional Rights on January 22, 2008. [PDF, 474 K]

Morning-After Pill opponents claim that they are just concerned about the health or welfare of women who take that particular pill, but there's a pattern of the Bush administration and Republicans restricting birth control information and access to all forms of contraception, including condoms. The following article was originally written in 2005 by Kelly Mangan, with input from the Redstockings Women's Liberation Archives for Action.  She is a member of Gainesville Women's Liberation and the former Florida National Organization for Women Young Feminist Task Force Chair.

There is a movement gathering steam in the United States against birth control. Of the 39 million fertile women who have sex with men, 95% use a form of contraception.¹ Obviously, the anti-birth control movement doesn't represent the vast majority of women. So why is it gaining ground so fast?  Well, unfortunately the movement does have the support of the White House.

 

"Because no one else except the Women's Liberation Movement) is going to cry out against these restrictions, it is up to feminists to make the strongest and most precise demands upon the lawmakers -who ostensibly exist to serve us. We will not accept insults and call them "steps in the right direction."

It is obvious to most people that the current prescription-only status of the Morning-After Pill must be changed. It requires women to get (and pay for) a doctor's appointment, which is a major obstacle for a drug that is most effective to prevent preg-nancy when taken within 24 hours - and fairly effective up to 72 hours - after sex.

But some have argued that making the Morning-After Pill an over-the-counter drug, like aspirin and cold medicine, is going too far, and that although the Morn-ing-After Pill is safe, women should be able to obtain it only through a "pharma-cist prescription," a status sometimes known as "behind the counter."

We completely disagree. We believe the Morning-After Pill should be immedi-ately made an over-the-counter drug, and that it should be affordable and acces-sible to women of any age and in all parts of the country. We believe that the U.S. should follow the lead of dozens of other countries which already provide women access to this safe backup birth-control method without any restriction.