I’ll just start with the assumption that many of you (since you’re reading this blog) also read the blog from the Family Research Council. There may be a few of you here and there who don’t read it every day, yeah, sure. Fine. But those of you who do may have noticed that they, too, are providing some coverage of the Senate hearings for Andrew Von Eschenbach, and I bet you took issue with a response to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) posted there yesterday.

FRC’s blogger, Tom McClusky, gets after Sen. Harkin for suggesting that Plan B might be made available through school nurses to female students facing the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy. Never mind that FDA’s research suggests that this would be perfectly safe, or that FRC wants to see a drop in the numbers of “unwed” mothers and the number of abortions in this country and that Plan B would help see that happen… McClusky’s argument for why Sen. Harkin is wrong rests on three claims:

1. The French are always wrong.
2. Type-2 diabetes is better for children than contraception.
3. Access to Plan B will increase the incidence of unprotected sex.

Now, let’s address these in order. First, Sen. Harkin points to France as an example in his argument, noting that French schools make Plan B available to students. McClusky’s response: If France (implicit giggle) is doing it, then America shouldn’t. The French aren’t as “conscientious when it comes to drug approval,” he says. While it’s obvious that conflicts of conscience are affecting the status of emergency contraception (EC) in our country, the French should have as clear a conscience about approving EC as Americans. If they are wrong, so are our own scientists. After all, 23 out of 27 scientific experts in America’s top pharmaceutical regulatory agency believed that EC is safe for women of all ages and they recommended its full approval for over-the-counter sales.

The second claim. Ok, McClusky didn’t say it exactly this way, but he does get after Sen. Harkin for introducing legislation that would take candy and soda vending machines out of schools. The CDC, for one, presents information that suggests this should be a concern: American youth are increasingly developing Type 2 diabetes, a condition that previously afflicted adults over 40 and is tied to obesity and low levels of physical activity. Even if he missed Fast Food Nation, we might think that Mr. McClusky and his organization, which champions “family…as the wellspring of society,” would like to see healthy children and healthy families. Why he takes up this issue as a mark against Sen. Harkin is beyond me. Unless of course FRC is getting kickbacks from PepsiCo or something…

The final claim – that access to Plan B will increase the incidence of unprotected sex among teenagers – is simply unsubstantiated. Wait, not just simply unsubstantiated – it’s plain wrong. It spits in the face of the evidence from the British Medical Journal and elsewhere that says access to EC does not increase the incidence of unprotected sex, nor does it decrease young women’s faithfulness to traditional contraceptive methods. The evidence suggests that EC is used by young women exactly how it’s supposed to be used: in emergencies.

McClusky seems to have been hoping that a shrill voice and convoluted reasoning would drown out arguments against him. After all, when someone tells you a Senator would rather see children having unprotected sex than drinking soda, it’s likely to send your brain for a loop. For good reason: it’s not reality. The Senator never suggested any such thing, and his advocacy for Plan B will only help young women.