Don’t Worry | Be Happy

Package Design & Unintended Pregnancy

In the second major recall of contraception in less than six months, Pfizer has recalled about 1 million packets of birth control pills because confusion in packaging has caused a misalignment of the pill order, increasing the likelihood of pregnancy. TIMELAND writes:

The affected pills include 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. All the pills were marketed by Akrimax Rx Products and have expiration dates ranging from July 31, 2013, to March 31, 2014. They were distributed to warehouses, clinics and pharmacies throughout the U.S.

Pfizer notified pharmacies and distributors on Dec. 28 that it was recalling the pills, writes the Wall Street Journal. The company believed, based on the “low defect rate and our health-hazard assessment,” that providing public notice wasn’t necessary. Late Tues. Pfizer changed its mind, deciding that perhaps women who were taking the pills and might become pregnant deserved to be notified.

Typically missing one pill or taking the wrong pill doesn’t result in an unintended pregnancy. The reality is that on their own, women are known to miss taking their contraceptive pill, thus increasing the possibility of pregnancy.

Is Bible Against Higher Pay for Teachers?

He said what??? Alabama state Sen. Shadrack McGill said that increasing pay for teachers is against ‘a biblical principle’ because it might attract people who otherwise wouldn’t do the job.

“Teachers need to make the money that they need to make,” McGill said, according to the Times-Journal. “If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren’t called to teach … and these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It’s just in them to do. It’s the ability that God give ‘em.”

Alabama is leading the nation in beginning pay for teachers but lags significantly behind in average pay, writes Huff Po. In real terms, teacher pay has declined for 30 years, with an average starting salary of $39,000. The average ending salary is $67,000 says the New York Times.

Imagine a novice teacher, thrown into an urban school, told to teach five classes a day, with up to 40 students each. At the year’s end, if test scores haven’t risen enough, he or she is called a bad teacher. For college graduates who have other options, this kind of pressure, for such low pay, doesn’t make much sense. So every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the United States $7.34 billion yearly. The effect within schools — especially those in urban communities where turnover is highest — is devastating.

Back to state Sen. Shadrack McGill, (R) Alabama, he didn’t find that the Bible prevented him from getting a pay raise. In 2007, McGill voted for a 67 percent pay increase, increasing the salaries of Alabama’s part-time legislators from $30.710 to $49,500 writes Think Progress. McGill argued that it would help stop corruption. The pay increase means that McGill and his part-time colleagues make a higher salary in Alabama than a full-time teacher with a Master’s degree and 15 years of experience.

In 2006 Alabama had the 4th lowest percentage of women legislators at a state level, reports the Decatur Daily. The state had 5.7 percent or eight women legislators. Electing more women to office would balance the mostly male outlook that dominates the Statehouse and likely bring more attention to health care, education and children’s issues, several of Alabama’s female legislators told The Birmingham News.

Komen Foundation Stops Funding Cancer Screenings At Planned Parenthood

Conservatives are thrilled that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has broken its ties with Planned Parenthood. Anti-choice activists have targeted Komen’s women’s health initiatives with Planned Parenthood since 2005. The New York Post headlined the news: Pro-Lifers win big against Planned Parenthood.

The official reason for the break is because Planned Parenthood is under Congressional investigation and Komen won’t fund any organization being investigated, based on a recently-passed amendment to the foundation’s funding rules. But according to the Los Angeles Times, Planned Parenthood suspects the decision is based on lobbying by anti-abortion activists.

Karen Handel, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin during her unsuccessful 2010 run for governor of Georgia has been the Foundation’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy at Komen since April 2011. During her gubernatorial candidacy, Handel made it clear that she ran on an anti-choice platform, vowing to defund Planned Parenthood if elected.

AOC covered the issue in depth last night, in a special article on our front page.