A number of people have called or written Congressman Mike Ferguson's office about the emergency contraceptive called
Plan B to determine his position on whether it should be sold over the counter without a prescription.
Plan B is made of the same stuff as the contraceptive known as
the pill in higher concentrations, and has been approved by the FDA as an emergency contraceptive for use within days of unprotected sex to prevent conception. It is not an abortion pill.
To date his office has not answered the question once, though they do have a new tactic: answering a different question. A few weeks ago the following question was sent to Ferguson's office via his official on-line form:
What is your position on Plan B? Do you think it should be made
available?
The answer that came back [
after the jump] was about H.R.1652, the Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act, a bill that requires pharmacies to fill medical prescriptions even if the pharmacist has a moral objection to the drug. Interestingly, not only is this not an answer to the question Ferguson was asked but he also refused to take a position on this bill.
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R.1652, the Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views. ...
H.R.1652 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Should this legislation come to the House floor for a vote, I will reflect further on your well-stated views.
Ferguson sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, yet will only "reflect further" if the committee reads the bill out to the entire house. He would not say whether he believes the committee should approve the bill, or if he will vote against it. Of course, he doesn't have to because it is sponsored by a Democrat and has no chance of coming to a vote in the committee, much less for the entire house.
Previously, Ferguson has written that he would not support legislation requiring that hospitals inform rape victims that Plan B is available. Not that they give it to rape victims, but that hospitals be allowed to keep a rape victim in the dark of her medical options to prevent conception and, as such, avoid being impregnated by the rapist.
Based on his refusal to go on record regarding emergency contraception and his opposition to telling rape victims of their full range of legal health care options, it is reasonable to assume that Ferguson opposes the legal sale of Plan B. If that is not the case and he supports the sale, we will gladly change this post and publicize his position.
But Congressman Ferguson or someone from his office needs to tell us. We know from conversations with their chief of staff that they track this blog and are aware of our postings, so if they want to clear this up they can just write to info@blue7th.com.
So please call his office at (908) 757-7835 (NJ) or (202) 225-5361 (DC) and ask for Abby Bird, the Congressman's official spokeswoman, or someone else who can answer a question on Ferguson's position on Plan B.
If you get to Ms. Bird or another person capable of answering your questions, please ask them, "Does Congressman Ferguson support the sale of emergency contraceptives such as Plan B to women who wish to use them?" Please do not be confrontational, but just try to get an answer to the question.
If you do not get a person who will answer the question please visit the online form and ask the question that way.
Contact Blue 7th at info@blue7th.com with the day you asked the question and any answers you get.
Cross posted from Dump Mike