03 May 2009
Plan B soon available to 17 year olds
The makers of Plan B have been trying to lower the age of those who can purchase the Plan B pill. They have tried from all ages, to 16 and older, and now 17 and older. It was passed that those 17 and older could purchase this product. I think this is a good idea, however, I think it should be available to all ages. Whether we like it or not, there are children having unprotected sex at very young ages, the least we can do is help prevent them from becoming pregnant. Most 17 and 18 year olds are not prepared to have children, yet still engage in sexual activities. By lowering this age I think it would help decrease the number of unintended pregnancies among our youth. We can’t limit the age of those who has sex, so why should there be an age limit on who can purchase the Plan B pill? It would save a lot of families’ heartache when the child comes home and says they are pregnant if they had the option of taking a pill the morning after to prevent the pregnancy. I know there are a lot of ethical issues with this pill because it is preventing pregnancy which is a natural process in life. But having a 17 year old raise a child is also an ethical issue also. A scientific review staff said the pill could be used by women of all ages, so it does not really make since for the FDA to put an age limit on those who can purchase it. In fact, in many other industrialized nations, Plan B as well as other contraceptive drugs have been available to women of all ages, so why are they limited in the US? Is it because women don’t have the right to have it available to them? What is the reasoning behind the FDAs decision on only those 17 and older can purchase it? There is no age limit on purchasing condoms is there? Yea, didn’t think so.
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Having had a child at 18, I am all for providing birth control to minors without parental consent; however, I think that the issue isn't preventing younger teens from using Plan B, but to make sure that there will not be any medical complications from using it.
ReplyDeletePlan B consists of 2 pills that are comprised of high doses of hormones. It is only effective when taken within 48-72 hours from intercourse. I don't know what the fetal complications are if it's taken after pregnancy, but I can imagine that they do exist since you are warned not to take regular low-dose birth control pills after pregnancy. At the same time, high doses of hormones can disrupt other endocrine functions, such as thyroid function. I think the maturity/responsibility aspect also comes into play. Over the counter purchase of Plan-B is unregulated, so there is nothing to stop someone from going back over and over again and using this product as a standard form of birth control. Repetitive exposure to these high doses of hormones could also have long term effects. As you pointed out, there is no age limit on purchasing condoms, yet we still have increasing teen pregnancy rates. The presumption is that teens don't take these precautions seriously.
I personally think that birth control should be more readily available to teenage girls in some discrete manner, whether prescribed by school nurses or by having health department family planning hours after school hours or on weekends. I'm definitely an advocate for abstinence and I don't want my children having sex before they are married. There are so many emotional and psychological impacts that go hand in hand with the physical and spiritual repurcussions. However, I will never take the stand that the potential consequences of pre-marital sex serves as a deterent from engaging in intercourse. It doesn't. It just makes the consequences that much more dire.