Must Be Those Teenage Sex Cults
By There’s news today that use of Plan B (emergency contraception or the “morning-after pill”) is way way up. According to a Washington Post article today, sales of Plan B have more than doubled since the drug was approved for over-the-counter use by adult women last year.
I – like most other people who support access to family planning services – think this is good news. Women – or at least adult women – have better, easier access to the drug now that they don’t have to go to their doctor or to the ER. They’re more likely to be able to get the pills in time to prevent pregnancy, thus hopefully helping decrease the number of abortions in the U.S. Access isn’t perfect — too often pharmacits impose their own (crazy) beliefs on women and refuse to dole out the drug (which is held behind the counter even though it is over the counter). And it’s ridiculous that teenagers — the people we should most help prevent pregnancy — are the ones who face the most obstacles to getting EC. Teens still need a prescription to get Plan B. One can imagine the myriad reasons why it might be tough for a teen to get to a doctor to get that prescription within 72 hours.
Anyway, there’s a lot of good news for reality-based people. For the anti-woman fundies, though, not so much. According to Broadsheet:
But, conservatives are in a finger-shaking tizzy over the news: “This is very concerning,” said Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council. “We think this is putting women’s health at risk.” The [Washington] Post adds that conservative advocacy groups believe “that easier availability could encourage sexual activity and make it easier for men to have sex with underage girls.”
Remember when the FDA was holding up approval of EC over-the-counter? People like the Family Resesarch Council (and in fact Ms. Yoest herself) were all worked up because they were worried that EC would encourage promiscuity among teens and other women, leading to sex cults. Seriously. Apparently their worst fears have come true.
Either that, or women are taking this opportunity to care for their health. Shocking that they would do that, when given the tools.