So recently there has been some controversy about Plan B, otherwise known as "The Morning After" pill. Currently the pill is available over the counter for those who are 17 or older. This was going to change to allow girls who are 16 and younger to be able to buy it without prescription, but as of yesterday morning, that initiative run by the FDA was overruled by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Young girls who are 16 or younger still need to have a prescription in order to buy the pills and common knowledge tells us that oftentimes getting a prescription can take multiple days to do. The pill is called the "morning after" pill, not the "couple of days after" pill. What good will it do by the time they actually get the prescription? I do not agree with Sebelius' choice. Many people have said that girls that age shouldn't even be buying Plan B- they shouldn't have a need for it, and while I agree, that's not going to stop them from having sex. Whether or not they can buy the pill without prescription is not going to stop them from having sex. If they're going to do it, they're going to do it.
One of Sebelius' reasons for denying the change was that younger girls will not know how to use the pill properly. She claims "there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age". It seems simple enough to use to me. The directions say to take the pill as soon as possible withing 72 hours of unprotected sex. Wow. So hard to understand. This issue has actually come up multiple times, and every single time is has been a political decision to not allow Plan B to be available OTC.
The medical experts have it right and the politicians just need to butt out. I don't think anyone really wants their 11 or 12 year old child having sex, I know I wouldn't, but wouldn't you want them to have a chance to be safe about it if they did?
So I'm curious, what are your thoughts on Plan B being available OTC? Should young girls be able to use emergency contraception without a prescription, or do you believe they aren't mature enough to handle it on their own? Comment below and vote on the poll!
Young girls who are 16 or younger still need to have a prescription in order to buy the pills and common knowledge tells us that oftentimes getting a prescription can take multiple days to do. The pill is called the "morning after" pill, not the "couple of days after" pill. What good will it do by the time they actually get the prescription? I do not agree with Sebelius' choice. Many people have said that girls that age shouldn't even be buying Plan B- they shouldn't have a need for it, and while I agree, that's not going to stop them from having sex. Whether or not they can buy the pill without prescription is not going to stop them from having sex. If they're going to do it, they're going to do it.
One of Sebelius' reasons for denying the change was that younger girls will not know how to use the pill properly. She claims "there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age". It seems simple enough to use to me. The directions say to take the pill as soon as possible withing 72 hours of unprotected sex. Wow. So hard to understand. This issue has actually come up multiple times, and every single time is has been a political decision to not allow Plan B to be available OTC.
The medical experts have it right and the politicians just need to butt out. I don't think anyone really wants their 11 or 12 year old child having sex, I know I wouldn't, but wouldn't you want them to have a chance to be safe about it if they did?
So I'm curious, what are your thoughts on Plan B being available OTC? Should young girls be able to use emergency contraception without a prescription, or do you believe they aren't mature enough to handle it on their own? Comment below and vote on the poll!
Diane Price That's a hard one. A girl has the right to chose but how young is to young to have to have your parents get it for you? And what if your family is the crazy religious type? Or they are just really strict? If we keep it out of peoples hands, then they will do what they need to to make sure something doesn't happen and that can get dangerous. I still stand firm with a women's right to chose though.
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