By Scott Tibbs, April 22, 2013
Steve Chapman illustrates the problem with libertarians who place purist ideology over common sense, resulting in an anti-libertarian stance. Giving birth control to pre-teen girls is not a libertarian position for two very big reasons.
First, it violates parental rights. The state has traditionally deferred to parents' authority in matters of child-rearing. For the government to allow the "morning after pill" to be available over the counter seriously undermines that authority, and violates the First Amendment rights of parents (especially Catholics) who oppose artificial birth control on religious grounds. It also undermines the ability of parents to protect their daughters from sexual predators. With MAP available over the counter, sexual predators much more easily cover up the results of their crimes.
Second, the state has always had a role in protecting children from abuse by adults. The essence of libertarian ideology can be summed up by the (admittedly simplistic) statement that "you can swing your fist as much as you want until it touches my nose." Once harm is committed, the state has reason to step in. Enabling sexual predators to cover up their crimes is not a libertarian position - it is an anarchist position.
Chapman has bought into the propaganda from the "reproductive rights" crowd that the "morning after pill" does not prevent implantation. If the point of "contraception" is to prevent fertilization in the first place, why is it that "emergency contraception" is taken after sexual contact -including up to three days later? Furthermore, the makers of "Plan B" admit on their own website that their drug can cause a fertilized egg not to implant, destroying a newly-created human life before it has a chance to grow:
| It is possible that Plan B One-Step® may also work by preventing fertilization of an egg (the uniting of the sperm with the egg) or by preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus (womb). |
Source: http://www.planbonestep.com/faqs.aspx
Screenshots: Twitter - PhotoBucket
Treating the "morning after pill" like acetaminophen or laxatives is illogical and ignores the moral and religious implications of the MAP. Drugs that relieve pain, suppress cold symptoms or encourage bowel movements are wildly different from the destructive social effects of allowing young teens and pre-teen girls unfettered access to a drug that enables felony sexual abuse and/or sexual activity before the age of consent. Like I said on April 12, this lawless decision is part of a larger and frightening movement to legalize pedophilia.
The solution here is simple. Congress should immediately draft and pass legislation to give the executive branch the authority to not authorize over the counter sales of "emergency contraception." The Food and Drug Administration is an agency created by Congressional legislation, so Congress has the legal authority to expand the authority of the agency and the executive branch that oversees it. Barack Obama has already said that he agrees with limiting OTC sales of "Plan B," so unless the President was being dishonest this should pass easily.
