1. The pill that was in question was, in fact, NOT an abortion pill, but simply a pill that delays ovulation to prevent fertilization from happening. So I have no problems with the existence and use of this pill, at least. The pill that I got it confused with is actually called mifepristone, which does, in general, terminate pregnancy.
2. It has at least been determined to have no serious risk of serious complications (You guys are just having to click a lot on this one, aren't you?). There are a few milder side-effects though, as there are with every pill.
So, I am slightly less uppity about it. I do recognize its purpose in society, and I see that it will in general help to decrease the frequency of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. In that respect, I see it as a benefit. I would encourage its use to a well-informed individual who sees a need for it in their lives.
What concerns me still is the young-ness of it all, and the inherent lack of knowledge that being young brings. Girls over the age of 16 were already able to access the pill pretty readily, this judge just decided to make it more readily available for younger girls. While I recognize that some girls younger than 16 are having sex and might see a "need" for this pill, I am concerned mostly because of the way in which I feel it will be used.
Any pill, be it Tylenol or Plan B, should be taken with an air of planning and caution. Every time you put something into your body that is somehow pharmaceutical, there is a risk involved. I don't care how old or young you are, I don't care what kind of situation you are in. Risk should be assessed and analyzed before taking a pill. Any pill. The very nature of the Plan B pill is one of "emergency," ie: "I-need-this-pill-right-now-and-I-don't-care-about-the-consequences." While I find that adults are probably mature enough to have done at least a little bit of research on Plan B before taking it, very young girls are less likely. Requiring a prescription or a minimum age at least helps to facilitate discussion and intelligent decision-making.
Even though the FDA has deemed it safe, there are probably certain circumstances where it would be unwise for a girl to take this pill, especially at such a young age. For example, Midol is deemed "safe," too, but it contains caffeine and therefore could have adverse side-effects on girls with heart defects/blood pressure problems. Midol, however, is not a pill that young girls would find necessary to buy "right-now" and behind their parents' backs, and so there seems to be less of a need for it to be regulated by age because in general there is probably parental involvement (Hey Suzy, you probably shouldn't take that because of your [insert medical condition here]). If a girl as young as 12 sees a need for Plan B, that's fine, but talk to a doctor or your parent first because they might know some things about it that the girl doesn't. There seems to be about a 5-day window, so at the very least if you tell your parent what happened the same day, they will probably take you to the store right away to buy it for you OTC (and ground you immediately thereafter if I was the parent, but what's the worse result?). I mean, the girls will probably need to ask their parents for the money to buy the pill, anyway. So in that sense, lowering the age requirement seems to have absolutely no positives, but only negatives.
And if they were raped, then they CERTAINLY need to see a doctor, anyway, who would probably decide to give her that pill at the office (after assessing the need and medical risks, of course). So that part of the argument is kind of a non-issue.
I don't know. I also tend to be for less regulation on things anyway, so I guess this would fall into the category of less-regulation and therefore good for everyone. It's not like we're using taxpayer dollars to fund this, so I guess that's okay.
And I recognize that I am responsible for raising my potential future daughter(s) to be mature and knowledgeable, and that hopefully they never find themselves needing this pill (ESPECIALLY under the age of 16, my goodness). And if they do, I hope that I raise them to be comfortable talking to me about it first before throwing random pills into their bodies.
So I suppose I am now squarely neutral on this issue. But there are definite concerns.
And seriously, can we PLEASE stop carding me when I buy Nyquil?? I am 25! Stop it!
What concerns me still is the young-ness of it all, and the inherent lack of knowledge that being young brings. Girls over the age of 16 were already able to access the pill pretty readily, this judge just decided to make it more readily available for younger girls. While I recognize that some girls younger than 16 are having sex and might see a "need" for this pill, I am concerned mostly because of the way in which I feel it will be used.
Any pill, be it Tylenol or Plan B, should be taken with an air of planning and caution. Every time you put something into your body that is somehow pharmaceutical, there is a risk involved. I don't care how old or young you are, I don't care what kind of situation you are in. Risk should be assessed and analyzed before taking a pill. Any pill. The very nature of the Plan B pill is one of "emergency," ie: "I-need-this-pill-right-now-and-I-don't-care-about-the-consequences." While I find that adults are probably mature enough to have done at least a little bit of research on Plan B before taking it, very young girls are less likely. Requiring a prescription or a minimum age at least helps to facilitate discussion and intelligent decision-making.
Even though the FDA has deemed it safe, there are probably certain circumstances where it would be unwise for a girl to take this pill, especially at such a young age. For example, Midol is deemed "safe," too, but it contains caffeine and therefore could have adverse side-effects on girls with heart defects/blood pressure problems. Midol, however, is not a pill that young girls would find necessary to buy "right-now" and behind their parents' backs, and so there seems to be less of a need for it to be regulated by age because in general there is probably parental involvement (Hey Suzy, you probably shouldn't take that because of your [insert medical condition here]). If a girl as young as 12 sees a need for Plan B, that's fine, but talk to a doctor or your parent first because they might know some things about it that the girl doesn't. There seems to be about a 5-day window, so at the very least if you tell your parent what happened the same day, they will probably take you to the store right away to buy it for you OTC (and ground you immediately thereafter if I was the parent, but what's the worse result?). I mean, the girls will probably need to ask their parents for the money to buy the pill, anyway. So in that sense, lowering the age requirement seems to have absolutely no positives, but only negatives.
And if they were raped, then they CERTAINLY need to see a doctor, anyway, who would probably decide to give her that pill at the office (after assessing the need and medical risks, of course). So that part of the argument is kind of a non-issue.
I don't know. I also tend to be for less regulation on things anyway, so I guess this would fall into the category of less-regulation and therefore good for everyone. It's not like we're using taxpayer dollars to fund this, so I guess that's okay.
And I recognize that I am responsible for raising my potential future daughter(s) to be mature and knowledgeable, and that hopefully they never find themselves needing this pill (ESPECIALLY under the age of 16, my goodness). And if they do, I hope that I raise them to be comfortable talking to me about it first before throwing random pills into their bodies.
So I suppose I am now squarely neutral on this issue. But there are definite concerns.
And seriously, can we PLEASE stop carding me when I buy Nyquil?? I am 25! Stop it!
1 comment:
Thanks for the update! I meant to give you more information earlier, but I forgot so here are links to a few articles:
A quick summary of emergency contraception (EC): http://www.cecinfo.org/custom-content/uploads/2013/03/QandAforDecisionmakers2013.pdf
And a good article: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/04/05/court-orders-fda-to-make-emergency-contraception-available-over-the-counter-for-all-ages/
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