Care Net’s Kurt Entsminger says, “The long-term health effects on women could be devastating.”

Contact: Kristin Hansen, Care Net, 703-478-5661 x31, www.care-net.org, www.optionline.org

STERLING, Va., Aug. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- The FDA’s decision to allow the morning-after pill to be sold over-the-counter to people ages 18 and up could have devastating effects on women’s health and cause an increase in STD rates, according to Care Net, a network of 975 pregnancy resource centers and medical clinics across North America.

Care Net President Kurt Entsminger said, “Under the pressure of a powerful pharmaceutical company, abortion advocates, and election year politics, the FDA has rushed this drug to the shelves with no idea of the long-term health effects of repeated use among women, especially teens. Despite the attempt by pharmacists to enforce an age limit, teens will likely be among the most frequent consumers of the morning-after pill.

“This decision could be the ‘tipping point’ which pushes the growing STD epidemic among teens into the category of a national disaster. International studies have shown that when the morning-after pill is available over-the-counter, STD rates increase. Drug users will bypass both medical exams and counsel, which have served to protect adolescents and women with contraindications from unknowingly putting their health at risk. In addition, consumers are not being informed that in some cases it could terminate a pregnancy by causing a fertilized embryo to be expelled from the womb.”

“Pregnancy centers are extremely concerned that Plan B could serve as another tool in the hand of sexual predators, as centers report an increasing number of instances of sexual abuse among our clients,” Entsminger said.

“Because of this regretful decision, pregnancy center staff and volunteers are preparing to help assist a generation of women who will likely serve as guinea pigs in this unprecedented social health experiment.”