To conceive or not to conceive: Administration takes heat over contraceptives

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While many struggle to have children, others are struggling not to.

A couple weeks after the Department of Health and Human Services mandated that employers — including religious organizations that serve the public — provide insurance coverage for FDA-approved sterilization procedures and contraceptive drugs, the Associated Press reports a federal judge in Tacoma, Wash., is considering whether pharmacies will be required to sell the Plan B drug or other emergency contraceptives in the state.

This is the second time U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton will be hearing the case between the state and Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia and two licensed Washington pharmacists, who refused to dispense the drug because post-intercourse contraceptives would infringe on their religious beliefs because it can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg.

Leighton ruled in favor of the pharmacists in 2007 but was overruled by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals due to the fact the law was religiously neutral and did not target a specific group of people. However, as reported in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Leighton said this was a weightier matter than many other freedom-of-religion cases, such as those concerning religious dress or other ceremonial matters.

"The question of life and death is serious," he thundered at an attorney for the state. "It's not facial hair, it's not a burka... I do not know when life begins, but I will not denigrate somebody's view of when life begins."

The case comes on the heels of the FDA recommendation to provide the Plan B One-Step pill over the counter to all sexually active girls and women as reported by CNN. However, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled that recommendation, mandating that girls younger than 17 must have a prescription.

"Because I do not believe enough data were presented to support the application ... I have directed FDA to issue a complete response letter denying the supplemental new drug application," Seblius said in a statement.

The Obama administration's decision upset many women's rights groups as well as many of the president's own party. Dolores J. Lamb, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, expressed disappointment the administration ignored the FD,A saying, "Sadly, it appears that once again our leaders are putting political expediency ahead of reproductive health."