Obama opposes free access of minors to morning-after pill but supports it for abortion
In a press conference today President Barack Obama was asked whether he agreed with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision yesterday to overrule the FDA and block the sale of the morning-after pill (abortion pill) to minors without a prescription.
Obama responded, “As the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.”
After adding he did not get involved in the decision-making process, Obama expounded:
As I understand it, the reason Kathleen made this decision was she could not be confident that a 10-year old or an 11-year old going to a drug store should be able alongside bubble gum or batteries be able to buy a medication that potentially if not used properly could end up having an adverse effect. And I think most parents would probably feel the same way….
When it comes to 12-year-olds or 13-year-olds, the question is, can we have confidence that they would potentially use Plan B properly and her judgment was that there was not enough evidence that this potentially could be used improperly in a way that had adverse health effects on those young people.
Here’s the entire clip:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t29CxNVqGKo[/youtube]
That’s great, laudable. I cannot believe yesterday Kathleen Sebelius and I agreed on a pro-life issue and today Barack Obama and I agree. Put this in the record books.
At the same time the discrepancy must be pointed out that Obama opposes laws requiring parents to be notified before their minor daughter gets an abortion.
So Obama opposes 10- to 13-yr-old girls having free access to powerful medications without parental oversight for fear of “adverse health effects” if “not used properly” but supports those same girls having free access to abortions without parental oversight, even in another state.
In 1996 Obama responded “No,” on a candidate questionnaire asking “Do you support parental consent/notification for minors seeking abortions?” As state senator Obama voted “present” in 2001 on two parental notification bills. As U.S. Senator Obama voted “No” in 2006 on a bill requiring parents to be notified before their minor daughter got an out-of-state abortion, and he voted “No” in 2008 on a bill prohibiting the trafficking of minors from states with parental involvement laws to states without them.
Actually, Kathleen Sebelius is just as bad. As state representative, she, too, voted against a parental notification bill for girls under 16.
Of course I’m glad that for whatever reason these two agree with the pro-family community that making mega-doses of female steroids as readily available to girls – and boys – as bubble gum lacks “common sense.”
But they are certainly inconsistent. Either the two are having dual epiphanies, or there is indeed more to Sebelius’ morning-after pill (Plan B) decision, which is what I think is really going on.
Obama’s daughter Malia is 13, and his daughter Sasha is 10.
[Photo via Politico]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Keep on nailing them to the wall with their own votes in the past. Their hypocrisy is tripping them up. Or maybe Obama sees things differently with his own daughters. Of course this is all political. I love it to see them try to wiggle out of this.
Yes, the abortion industry will fume but they have no where else to go with their vote. It is the independent vote they are worried about. Let’s keep the heat coming…
My child wants to have an operation that forces open her cervix and scrapes out her baby (SORRY–contents of her uterus) and can do this without me, her mother, knowing???
Good grief, she got stung by a wasp last month and the principal called me!
How in God’s great world does her freedom to kill bring any good end??
“When it comes to 12-year-olds or 13-year-olds, the question is, can we have confidence that they would potentially use Plan B properly and her judgment was that there was not enough evidence that this potentially could be used improperly in a way that had adverse health effects on those young people.”
Sentence makes no sense. There’s not enough evidence…?? Surely the Pres just misspoke, right?
Courtney – Again If your kid has a medical procedure done without your knowledge that is 100% YOUR fault. That is a parenting fail. I do not need anyone to inform me about what my child is doing. I talk to her and she talks to me. If your kid is hiding something from you then you need to ask yourself what you are doing wrong as a parent.
I think Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama are just being responsible. These types of drugs need to be by prescription only so anyone of any age will get medically accurate information about the medication they are about to take. We are not talking about Flintstone vitamins here. I do not think parents need to be informed about their child’s activities as it is their job to know, but giving the medical information to the patient is necessary.
Biggz, teenagers are dumb sometimes. Their brains are not developed enough to make great decisions all the time, and even with the best parents they can make mistakes and try to hide it from their parents. As a society I think that cutting parents out of their minor children’s medical decisions is horribly bad for the children.
Parental consent works both ways. If pro-choice parents don’t want their teenagers having babies, they can march them straight down to Planned Parenthood and you won’t complain about coerced abortions. Right?
simple….parental notification means less abortions for them. less abortions = less blood money!
Jack – if your child is hiding a major medical decision from you then there is a reason. There is something between you and your child that is making them apprehensive about tell you something so personal… I know it is a hard fact to face but if things were good between you and your child your opinion would be the very first one they would want on that type of decision. If you let society raise your child you they end up playing peewee football at Penn State… Also if your child is dumb or makes dumb decisions then that is also your fail as a parent. We started reading to our daughter every night since she was 2 and by the time she was 4 she could read bedtime stories to us.
Maybe your child does not want to talk to you because your religious beliefs are strong and they fear your wrath or maybe they fear going to hell. Maybe they are afraid they will be seen as dirty in your eyes. Maybe they are just afraid of disappointing you. In any case it is your fault as a parent for not explaining the consequences and how you personally will feel about your child if they make a mistake not matter how big or small. No need for the rest of the world to change because you do not have a open and honest relationship your own child.
So…Barack isn’t worried about the fact that 12 and 13 year olds are having sex, just buying Plan B when they go in for their bubble-gum fix?
Biggz, I can’t tell if you are using “you” in general, or “you” as directed to me. But just so you know, I am not religious, I certainly don’t talk about people going to hell. I am a mostly stay-at-home dad of two little children who adore me and I them, and they definitely know it. I am not going to let that change when they get older.
I understand what you are saying, I do. I think some of it IS kids in strict families that are afraid of the consequences. But really, have you tried to apply your line of thinking to everything? Twelve-year-olds should be able to drink, if your child is drinking that’s YOUR fault? Please. I don’t see why it’s so hard to see that sometimes kids do dumb things, and we shouldn’t set up society to HELP them fail.
Quote of the Day to Jack B “teenagers are dumb sometimes“. You’ll have more parents agree to that than disagree ;)
…and then of course you’ll have the odd one or two tell you that they believe their children tell them everything because they’re great parents and that yours don’t because you’re a failure.
Kids tell their parents what they want them to hear.
Heather – Your ignorance is appalling. Yes everyone wants to make money off of forcing abortions on young unsuspecting girls… Feel free to join us in reality when you’re finished raving…
CC – Yes it does work both ways but there is nothing forced or coerced about it. If my daughter tested positive for pregnancy the decision would be 100% up to her. As you can tell I take parenting seriously and I would expect her to do the same. If she wanted an abortion I would support her 100%. If she wanted to be a parent I would be the happiest grandpa in the world. Being a grandpa is something I am VERY much looking forward to but I am willing to wait until my daughter is ready to be a parent with all the responsibility that comes with it. My daughter understands through our example that parenting is a life long, 100% commitment that come first no matter what. If she is not ready to invest that much then she is not ready to be a parent.
I think Phil Kline could provide some insight on what is going on here, and explain why Sebelius is moderating her anti-life position.
As for Obama’s reason: its 11 months before an election.
I mean you in general. I not talking about anyone specific.
Jack I hear what you are saying but think back to when you were in school. The kids that were doing bad things like drinking or having sex at 13, where were their parents and in your opinion were they very good parents? The kid that stole my bike when I was twelve was the son of a biker and his oldlady… I’m just saying. People need to be responsible for the actions of their children and stop relying on the rest of the world to teach and look out for them.
Well, the bad kid was me at that age, and I had horrible parents, so I see your point. But I deserved to be protected from the stupid things that I didn’t know better than to do, even if I didn’t have parents who cared. Society shouldn’t just be like “eh, it’s the parents fault” when a teenager is destroying their life. Let me tell you, that doesn’t benefit anyone.
Biggz, if your child isn’t ready to be a parent and has to kill your grandchild in order to remain not a mom, then they are too young to be having sex. that’s a fail on YOUR part.
PS. Sex causes babies.
oh bigzz lol. is it really? isnt abortion a major surgery? what if the girl has complications and have to get to an er? mom and dad will find out. bigzz stop throwing stones because your ignorance is beyond belief!
I think, to a certain degree, politicians and abortion views are tough to read because the amount of money involved and the political liability standpoints are. Newt and Romney don’t complete toe the line regarding pro-life viewpoints, and they get hammered for it. A politician, when it comes to abortion, almost has to have a pre-defined viewpoint based on where the money comes from.
If the money was less of a factor, you wonder what some of these folks would really say they believe.
Biggz – having an abortion wouldn’t magically “un-make” a parent out of someone. I think you know what I am eluding at.
Heather – technically Bigzz is right, and you seem to agree with him – if complications occur, major surgery might be needed, but abortion by itself though is not generally considered major surgery.
The difference, IMO is that there is a lack of prescence of a medical professional in OTC drugs. There is a medical professional present in Rx, or behind the counter OTCs (like the ones held back because of Meth labs) and in Doctor’s offices. That’s the difference.
No wonder Obama’s quote was so hard to read. It edited out all the “uhs” to lull you to sleep. He must have been a riveting law professor.
It’s at least good to know there are some lines he won’t cross to ensure he isn’t punished with a grandchild.
ex gop please go visit the site “CEMETERY OF CHOICE” and see all of the deaths posted and their stories from safe legal abortion! abortion is a minor surgery? sorry but thats nutty on your part.
ex gop… you are also forgetting about the abortion breast cancer link. id say thats a major complication wouldnt you? if not why not?
I know, Courtney (12/8/11, 4:14pm)
Lol – my child needed permission to put Aquaphor on for his chapped lips! He had to leave it in his backpack OUTSIDE the classroom! I can’t believe how ridiculous these educators and politicians can be.
Heather – saying that abortion is major surgery because it is linked to breast cancer is identical to saying smoking is major surgery because it is linked to lung cancer.
ex gop….huh? thats your answer? smoking is surgery…..yeah ok. lmao anyway women who abort are unaware of the breast cancer that could follow an abortion. they are not told. smokers are warned and smokers KNOW the risks! i guess that was the best you could do in attempting to answer me. i must admit that is an odd response. ???????
abortion is a major surgery and comes with risks just as many other surgeries do!
I had a non cancerous growth (called a neurofibroma) removed from my neck 8 years ago. The doctor told me that one of the risks was that I could possibly end up with either permanent dilated eyes or crossed eyes…something like that (something to do with the nerves in that area). But I had to have the growth removed because it was pretty big. Luckily, I did not have that issue happen with the eyes.
However,, Abortion involves deliberately prematurely opening the cervix to cause the death of an UNBORN CHILD! Haven’t you read the horror stories of complications? A few years ago, the abortionist in town here injured a woman so badly she lost a lot of blood and had to have an emergency Hysterectomy!
Are you being serious Heather? That is one of the most illogical arguments I’ve ever seen – are you aware of what surgery means? Are you trying to say that there are a lot of consequences of abortion? I think that might be what you mean – trying to argue that it is a major surgery because somebody might get breast cancer later…that just doesn’t make sense.
This is on Biggz repeated attempts to make notification laws some form of bad parenting back up…
1st, I think you’re confusing ‘notification’ with ‘consent’. If a 14 year old gets pregnant and decides behind their parents back to get an abortion, that is, in fact, a parenting failure. But if the parent, who is responsible for the current and future health of the *child* does not know what has taken place, the ability to adequetily parent has been removed from them. Moreover, children ane’t legal adults for a reason. If a child is being abused and the proof of that abuse is pregnancy, the parents have the right, have a *need* to know about that pregnancy, but absent notification the abuser can continue to hide their abuse. Also, children can be easily manipulated and scared. Even if the pregnancy came about in a non-abusive way, and the child and parents would be happy about the pregnancy, a child could still be convinced by a teacher or other trusted adult to abort, without notification the parents may not even get a chance to counter this outside influence. Even a well parented child can be unduly influenced by an adult in a position of power, or by an older child in the case of say a 15 year old pregnant by a 17 year old. It takes a very strong spirit for a student to stand up to a teacher, or a girlfriend to stand up to a first love, more will, perhaps, than should be expected or requested of a child (which isn’t to say some children don’t possess it), it falls to the parent to help bolster that will, but if it is hidden from them, how can they be of assistance?