Obama, we hardly knew ye!

Anyone who reads my posts knows that I did not support Obama in 2008. Since then, I've often asked myself if I were wrong to conclude that he lacks principles. I really wanted to respect him, really!  On a few occasions--very few--I've come close to changing my mind.  But the news yesterday that his administration has again raised political expediency over principle, refusing to allow Plan B (the morning-after pill) to be sold over the counter, has closed my mind (nailed it shut, in fact) to ever believing that Barack Obama is a good and decent man.  He's not.

It's particularly disturbing that Obama has two daughters of an age where they might need to use Plan B. In the past he's always been willing to cite his daughters where it might grab him a few votes, but in this case he's willing to condemn girls not so different from his own daughters to unwanted pregnancies and the inevitable consequences of such pregnancies, including abortions, dropping out of school, emotional stress, and all else that the use of a morning-after pill might preclude.

The reason for this decision: Kathleen Sebelius, his health secretary, claims that the drug company that makes Plan B did "not conclusively establish that Plan B should be made available over the counter for girls of reproductive age," noting that 10 percent of 11 year-old girls can bear children, so they need to be studied as well. This is the first time ever that that the Health and Human Services secretary publicly overruled the Food and Drug Administration, making it clear that this is a political decision, not a medical one.  Is Sebelius suggesting that it's better for this hypothetical eleven year old to have the child?  And how ridiculous is the notion that a sexually active eleven year old would know of Plan B and its uses or that she would have the $49.99 (Walgreen's price) to buy the pill.  Imagine the panic that ensued at Health and Human Services when the word came down from Obama to override the FDA.  How they must have scrambled and searched, document after document, looking for something, anything that wouldn't smack of a political decision.  Well the tin-eared bureaucrats failed, mightily!

In agreeing to be Obama's political mouthpiece, Sebelius has lost all credibility as health secretary, and I hope any future chance to rise within the Democratic Party. A distinct contrast to Sebelius is Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned her post in 2005 as assistant commissioner of the FDA, to protest the Bush administration's handling of Plan B.  Wood points out that there are many drugs available over the counter that have not been studied in pre-adolescents and that are far more dangerous (cheaper too, I might add), citing acetaminophen which can be fatal.  There not a single recorded death of anyone who used Plan B, and certainly none of eleven year old girls.  The scientific evidence is overwhelming that taking Plan B (it prevents 50% of probable pregnancies if taken within 24 hours of intercourse) is far safer for young girls than an unplanned pregnancy, but safety is not Obama's concern.  He's calculated that his decision will lose him fewer votes from independents in November (I doubt it will get him votes) and that it will placate the Catholic church. To be boringly redundant, this is the same church that ignored (solely for political reasons) the sexual abuse of children, girls and boys, for decades.  Obama has lost any chance at my vote (and I suspect many other votes as well).  If there's a third-party candidate of any credibility, I'll be out there canvassing for him (hopefully, for her).  Obama, we hardly knew ye!