As reported by the Missourian, by a margin of 115-43, the Missouri House voted on Tuesday to approve an amendment “to keep pharmacies from being required to distribute emergency contraception and other drugs.”

The bill that this amendment is a part of, (which concerns “certain state boards to [be allow to] hold disciplinary hearings for people who are licensed by the state and are convicted of certain felonies,”) has not yet been voted on.

  The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, states that a pharmacy  can't be sued for not carrying medication and that the state cannot revoke a license  if a pharmacy does not carry certain medication. It specifically mentions Plan B,  an emergency contraception drug that can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72  hours of unprotected sex, and RU-486, the drug used to induce an abortion.

First of all, RU-486 cannot even be purchased at a pharmacy, so I don’t see why it is mentioned in the amendment. As the article states, “The drug is only available through a doctor and cannot be distributed by a pharmacy.”

Secondly, Plan B (now available over the counter, in some places anyway, to women aged 17 or older) does not cause abortion. It is a back up form of birth control, that is used within 72 hours of having sex. It doesn’t work if you’ve already become pregnant. Therefore, clearly not abortion.

 "To implement a law like this, especially in a rural area, seems to me to put  another road block before women," said Rep. Mary Still, D- Columbia

 Representative Still is right. According to an article published last year on this topic in the Kansas City Star, Pamela Sumners, executive director of the Missouri affiliate of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, talked about “a study [that] found that 26 percent of women in Missouri do not live within 30 miles of a pharmacy that sells Plan B.”

Planned Parenthood advocates for the continued availability of Plan B, explaining on their website that...
 

 Every woman deserves every chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy.  Emergency contraception (EC) provides women with a second chance at  prevention in cases of unanticipated sexual activity, contraceptive failure, or  sexual assault.

They bring up an excellent point, there. Colleeen Coble, head of a Columbia victim’s rights group, made it clear that it was important to consider how such a law would effect victims of sexual assault. Here, she is talking about HB 1625, which would “classify emergency contraception as an abortion-inducing medication” and “would protect pharmacies from lawsuits and from punishment by state regulators for refusing to sell or fill a prescription for any drug defined as triggering an abortion.” This was a similar bill that was being considered in the state last year, but was never voted on.

 “In a case where your body has become a crime scene, where you have undergone  an incredibly invasive examination to gather evidence, (this bill) would make you  travel four counties away to avoid becoming pregnant by the person who violently  attacked you,” Coble said. “This is an issue of health care. It’s an issue of  decency.”

People, this is why education is so important. Making a law that effects half of Missouri’s population on the ignorant reasoning that Plan B causes abortion is wrong. It’s scary when the people making these important decisions are the ones who aren’t fully educating themselves on the issues, and don’t fully understand the impact that such restrictions will have on people’s lives. Because it’s not just about women. An unintended pregnancy effects way more people than just the pregnant woman. It is our job as advocates for youth to not only educate ourselves, but to work and act to educate others. It’s wonderful that we know these things, but if we don’t share our knowledge and our views with our friends, representatives, and leaders, how can we bring about change?

~Samantha