Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
'Morning After' Pill
Aired May 20, 2003 - 09:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: A small pill will have a major impact on the abortion debate in this country. The so-called "morning after pill," which can prevent pregnancy if taken several days after having sex is now becoming easier to get. Last week, New Mexico became the fourth state to allow pharmacies to sell this drug directly to women without a prescription, and more are expected to follow. Not everyone thinks that's a good development.
In fact, it's provoking some debate. My guest in New York, Gloria Feldt, the president of Planned Parenthood. And in Washington, Wendy Wright is the senior policy director of Concerned Women for America.
Ladies, thanks for joining us, and, Gloria, let me start with you, tell us about this pill. How does it work, and how does it differ from RU-486, the abortion pill?
GLORIA FELDT, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The emergency contraception pill is just that, it's contraception -- it prevents a pregnancy from occurring, and in fact, it won't even work if you're already pregnant. Every women who is at risk of unintended pregnancy should have emergency contraception available to her readily, really in her own medicine cabinet, in advance, in my opinion.
And if that can happen, we can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by one half.
CHOI: All right, Let me pose that question to Wendy Wright. Wendy, what about the potential for the number of abortions that might be reduced with this pill? I mean, doesn't emergency contraception kind of bridge the gap between national -- the abortion right and the other side in this situation?
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: Well, Sophia, actually the situation doesn't bear that out. And let's explain really what the morning-after pill is. It's a high dose of the birth control pill. Now the birth control pill requires a medical exam and a prescription, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and even the manufacturers of oral contraceptives recommend that we continue to have a medical exam and prescription for the birth control pill, and that's because drugs do involve risks. And the birth control pill can have serious side effects, such as blood clots, heart disease and other life-threatening conditions.
So it make no sense to require prescription for a lower dose of a the pill, but then not require a prescription for a higher dose of the pill. Really what this is doing, it's putting women's health and safety at risk.
FELDT: No, actually the American College and Obstetricians and Gynecologist, scientists all around the world, including the World Health Organization, have found that all birth control pills are safe and effective, and in fact, the World Health Organization has recommended that birth control pills in general be off-prescription.
But this is -- we're talking about emergency contraception today, which is used on a one-time sporadic kind of basis. And it's been proved to so safe and so effective that there is absolutely no medical reasons whatsoever to fail to have it available to women who need it, so that they can prevent unintended pregnancy.
CHOI: Let's talk about unintended pregnancies in the case of sexual assaults. I mean, how is this dealt with at hospitals at this point? I mean, is this pill given to victims of sexual assault.
FELDT: No, the majority of hospitals, unfortunately, do not provide emergency contraception in their emergency rooms when a woman presents herself as a sexual assault victim, and that's why we have been working toward getting legislation in various different states and at the federal level in order to make sure that that compassionate care for sexual assault providers can be provided.
As one young woman said to me, I don't know what I would have done if I had been forced to carry my rapist's child. It's just humane and humanitarian.
CHOI: Wendy, your response?
WRIGHT: Yes, actually there has been no testing to find out the long-term effect can be on a women after taking the morning-after pill, and also no testing of what repetitive use of the pill, morning- after pill, can do to a woman.
Now in areas in which the morning after pill has had easy access, unprotected access, including Thailand and England, what they have found is a large increase in sexually transmitted diseases. That's because women will rely on the morning-after pill, for example, because they're being told you should keep an easy supply on hand, and they're not using condoms or they're taking precautions in their sexual activity, and that puts them at greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
CHOI: Gloria, legislatures and pharmacists in 14 states at this point want this pill available over the counter without a prescription -- do you think it should be available in all states?
FELDT: Absolutely. It's a sound public health measure. And just to address Wendy's last comment, the fact of the matter is, that "The New England Journal of Medicine" did a very comprehensive study, and found that women don't use emergency contraception on an ongoing basis. They use it responsibly, and it doesn't keep them from using their regular birth control or their protection actually sexually transmitted infections. So all the emergency contraception pill does is to provide women with a great, effective, simple, inexpensive means of preventing unintended pregnancy in those situations where they have been sexual assault, the condom breaks, or for whatever other reason there has been unanticipated, unprotected intercourse.
CHOI: All right, Wendy Wright, I'm going to give you the last word on that.
WRIGHT: Yes, actually, in Thailand, where it has been easily accessible for over 15 years, what they found is the most frequent buyers of morning-after pills are men. And it's because the men don't want to use condoms, they expect the women to use this, and also some of the women are told, as they're given it by their boyfriends, that it's a health supplement. So women are being put at great risk if the morning after pill is made easily and acceptable without the protection of a doctor's oversight.
CHOI: Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood and Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for American, we thank you for your time, and this debate just beginning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 20, 2003 - 09:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: A small pill will have a major impact on the abortion debate in this country. The so-called "morning after pill," which can prevent pregnancy if taken several days after having sex is now becoming easier to get. Last week, New Mexico became the fourth state to allow pharmacies to sell this drug directly to women without a prescription, and more are expected to follow. Not everyone thinks that's a good development.
In fact, it's provoking some debate. My guest in New York, Gloria Feldt, the president of Planned Parenthood. And in Washington, Wendy Wright is the senior policy director of Concerned Women for America.
Ladies, thanks for joining us, and, Gloria, let me start with you, tell us about this pill. How does it work, and how does it differ from RU-486, the abortion pill?
GLORIA FELDT, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The emergency contraception pill is just that, it's contraception -- it prevents a pregnancy from occurring, and in fact, it won't even work if you're already pregnant. Every women who is at risk of unintended pregnancy should have emergency contraception available to her readily, really in her own medicine cabinet, in advance, in my opinion.
And if that can happen, we can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by one half.
CHOI: All right, Let me pose that question to Wendy Wright. Wendy, what about the potential for the number of abortions that might be reduced with this pill? I mean, doesn't emergency contraception kind of bridge the gap between national -- the abortion right and the other side in this situation?
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: Well, Sophia, actually the situation doesn't bear that out. And let's explain really what the morning-after pill is. It's a high dose of the birth control pill. Now the birth control pill requires a medical exam and a prescription, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and even the manufacturers of oral contraceptives recommend that we continue to have a medical exam and prescription for the birth control pill, and that's because drugs do involve risks. And the birth control pill can have serious side effects, such as blood clots, heart disease and other life-threatening conditions.
So it make no sense to require prescription for a lower dose of a the pill, but then not require a prescription for a higher dose of the pill. Really what this is doing, it's putting women's health and safety at risk.
FELDT: No, actually the American College and Obstetricians and Gynecologist, scientists all around the world, including the World Health Organization, have found that all birth control pills are safe and effective, and in fact, the World Health Organization has recommended that birth control pills in general be off-prescription.
But this is -- we're talking about emergency contraception today, which is used on a one-time sporadic kind of basis. And it's been proved to so safe and so effective that there is absolutely no medical reasons whatsoever to fail to have it available to women who need it, so that they can prevent unintended pregnancy.
CHOI: Let's talk about unintended pregnancies in the case of sexual assaults. I mean, how is this dealt with at hospitals at this point? I mean, is this pill given to victims of sexual assault.
FELDT: No, the majority of hospitals, unfortunately, do not provide emergency contraception in their emergency rooms when a woman presents herself as a sexual assault victim, and that's why we have been working toward getting legislation in various different states and at the federal level in order to make sure that that compassionate care for sexual assault providers can be provided.
As one young woman said to me, I don't know what I would have done if I had been forced to carry my rapist's child. It's just humane and humanitarian.
CHOI: Wendy, your response?
WRIGHT: Yes, actually there has been no testing to find out the long-term effect can be on a women after taking the morning-after pill, and also no testing of what repetitive use of the pill, morning- after pill, can do to a woman.
Now in areas in which the morning after pill has had easy access, unprotected access, including Thailand and England, what they have found is a large increase in sexually transmitted diseases. That's because women will rely on the morning-after pill, for example, because they're being told you should keep an easy supply on hand, and they're not using condoms or they're taking precautions in their sexual activity, and that puts them at greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
CHOI: Gloria, legislatures and pharmacists in 14 states at this point want this pill available over the counter without a prescription -- do you think it should be available in all states?
FELDT: Absolutely. It's a sound public health measure. And just to address Wendy's last comment, the fact of the matter is, that "The New England Journal of Medicine" did a very comprehensive study, and found that women don't use emergency contraception on an ongoing basis. They use it responsibly, and it doesn't keep them from using their regular birth control or their protection actually sexually transmitted infections. So all the emergency contraception pill does is to provide women with a great, effective, simple, inexpensive means of preventing unintended pregnancy in those situations where they have been sexual assault, the condom breaks, or for whatever other reason there has been unanticipated, unprotected intercourse.
CHOI: All right, Wendy Wright, I'm going to give you the last word on that.
WRIGHT: Yes, actually, in Thailand, where it has been easily accessible for over 15 years, what they found is the most frequent buyers of morning-after pills are men. And it's because the men don't want to use condoms, they expect the women to use this, and also some of the women are told, as they're given it by their boyfriends, that it's a health supplement. So women are being put at great risk if the morning after pill is made easily and acceptable without the protection of a doctor's oversight.
CHOI: Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood and Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for American, we thank you for your time, and this debate just beginning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
