The New Intimacy

Should Plan B be available over the counter?

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Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
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A District Court judge has ruled that the "morning after pill," or emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, must be made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17, as the FDA recommended. What do you think?

My reasoning on this is that, much like regular hormonal contraception, this would help prevent unwanted teen pregnancies (which are costly to the teen mother and to all of society in many ways), and would not "encourage irresponsible sexual behavior" because in general, a teen's decision to have sex does not depend on the availability of birth control--it depends on what kind of sex education they've had, whether they've developed good decision-making skills, and on their self-esteem.
Answers (public voting - your screen name will appear in the results):
Yes, any woman in her child-bearing years should have easy access to this medication.
Ansley , charmedtomeetyou , TheirPet , kdlt , eri86 , El-Jaro , table38792 , Ciao. , StormOfSnakes , Munko , marriedlady123 , joolie , ~Minty~ , CountryPrincess , jr2012 , ShadowedSeductress , Wicked Wahine , Kallina , GONE! , Adriana Ravenlust , Leather & Lace , Stagger13 , solitudinarian , padmeamidala , P'Gell , Vanille , falalena , pootpootpoot , namelesschaos , twelve13 , bratcat , wwwww , WestTexasBarbie , bayosgirl , Eyesonfire , A&M , Nullipara , SecretKinksters , flameworker , Ly-Ra , Billie Bones , Trixxxy , guppiefish , edeneve , gatewayer57@yahoo.com , CinnamonNights , dawnkye
47  (84%)
No, having access to Plan B will result in more unprotected sex and more STI's.
ryansex , C&K0143
2  (4%)
It depends/I'm not sure. (Explain below!)
Lildrummrgurl7 , angel42539 , travelnurse , BrittaniMaree , TheBadWife , Sincerely yours, N , Thong man
7  (12%)
Total votes: 56
Poll is closed
04/16/2013
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Contributor: Lildrummrgurl7 Lildrummrgurl7
I'm torn. I definitely think that any woman should have easy access to Plan B without a prescription. Getting a doctor's prescription takes time and we all know time is a really important factor in the effectiveness of Plan B.

However, if it were available over the counter, I could see some people abusing it and relying on it, which is less than ideal. I think overall, I'm much closer to the "yes!" side of things, but there's still a little nagging reluctance.
04/16/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Men have been conning women out of methods of birth control since the concept of birth control became a reality so I'm not really all that concerned about more people having unprotected sex so much as I am about women having limited access to it and then having to undergo abortions, adoptions, or pregnancies/marriages they have no desire for in the first place.

Condoms break, IUDs can fall out, a pill is skipped here or there...it should be available at a reasonably affordable yet inconvenient rate (to prevent misuse) and I think samples should be given to women as they leave their yearly pap smear. It's just the right thing to do.

Another thing that will probably prevent overuse by women is that the period you experience after taking it is probably going to be one of the worst ones in memory and that alone should be inspiring enough for someone to step up their game when it comes to birth control.
04/16/2013
Contributor: TheirPet TheirPet
It should be fair game when it comes to birth control.
04/16/2013
Contributor: Scythe Scythe
Quote:
Originally posted by Lildrummrgurl7
I'm torn. I definitely think that any woman should have easy access to Plan B without a prescription. Getting a doctor's prescription takes time and we all know time is a really important factor in the effectiveness of Plan B. ... more
I think that it should be available over the counter however there are many people who do not currently use all of the contraceptives that are available and i don't see that changing with this.I am not trying to generalize just saying it how it is.
04/16/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by Scythe
I think that it should be available over the counter however there are many people who do not currently use all of the contraceptives that are available and i don't see that changing with this.I am not trying to generalize just saying it how it is.
Do you mean that you think, even if it's available, many teens won't use it? If so, I agree with that, unfortunately, because a lot of them simply won't KNOW it's available. Hopefully the company will come up with a good marketing campaign, especially online in popular social media sites!
04/16/2013
Contributor: eri86 eri86
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Men have been conning women out of methods of birth control since the concept of birth control became a reality so I'm not really all that concerned about more people having unprotected sex so much as I am about women having limited access to it ... more
I like the idea of it being readily available not readily affordable.
04/16/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by eri86
I like the idea of it being readily available not readily affordable.
My only issue with that is that a young woman without a job who is date-raped, for example, would still have a hard time getting this product if the price is prohibitive. I really can't imagine the ready availability of this medication causing girls everywhere to start having unprotected sex.
04/16/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by FieryRed
My only issue with that is that a young woman without a job who is date-raped, for example, would still have a hard time getting this product if the price is prohibitive. I really can't imagine the ready availability of this medication causing ... more
If a woman is date-raped she should be able to walk into a hospital and request Plan B while the hospital works on contacting the police to get him off the streets.

*sigh* In a perfect world...
04/16/2013
Contributor: table38792 table38792
Yeah I think so. More control and less unwanted pregnancies the better right? People need to relax...
04/16/2013
Contributor: Ciao. Ciao.
I'm fully in favor of making it more available. If it's safe and effective and access prevents people from making healthy choices then it needs to be more accessible, end of story.

I don't think it will make people more promiscuous.
04/16/2013
Contributor: StormOfSnakes StormOfSnakes
It's a step in the right direction, they do need to educate people about sex before this sort of thing happens though. I need to see better sex education in schools. None of that bullshit 'abstinence only' stuff I had to sit through in my Junior year of High School. Far too fucking late if you ask me, I was the ONLY girl in that class that wasn't pregnant/didn't have a child already!
04/16/2013
Contributor: Munko Munko
I fully support it. Here it is already available over the counter. I've had to take it ONCE (when I was 18 and the condom broke). After that experience, I can pretty confidently say most women or young girls won't use it as a form of regular birth control or rely on it, abusing the availability. It's not a pleasant experience. My period wasn't awful, but I was nauseous, dizzy, extremely tired and sick feeling for about a week after I took the pills.

But I agree, sex education needs to be bumped up a notch or 5. Our schools didn't preach abstinence, but not much on protection or STDs, or the realities of pregnancy, either. It was really just education on the body and a birds and the bees type talk. Not effective if you ask me!
04/16/2013
Contributor: CountryPrincess CountryPrincess
I say yes it should
04/16/2013
Contributor: jr2012 jr2012
absolutely. My state already has it over the counter (though it's actually behind the pharmacy counter so you can't just grab one, but at least you don't need a prescription).

I fully feel that that pill, and the fact that I could easily get it, has saved my life! I couldn't handle a pregnancy in any fashion.
04/16/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
If a woman is date-raped she should be able to walk into a hospital and request Plan B while the hospital works on contacting the police to get him off the streets.

*sigh* In a perfect world...
In a perfect world, we wouldn't have any kind of rape...but yes, exactly. As many of us are aware, many women don't report rape by someone they know, usually because they either know they won't be believed or they fear the repercussions of accusing someone within their community.
04/17/2013
Contributor: Leather & Lace Leather & Lace
Yes, I believe so.
04/17/2013
Contributor: Stagger13 Stagger13
Quote:
Originally posted by FieryRed
Article 1

Article 2

A District Court judge has ruled that the "morning after pill," or emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, must be made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17, as the FDA ... more
Yes I think it should.
04/17/2013
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Men have been conning women out of methods of birth control since the concept of birth control became a reality so I'm not really all that concerned about more people having unprotected sex so much as I am about women having limited access to it ... more
I agree with everything you said! ALL women who are capable of getting pregnant should be able to walk into a pharmacy and get Plan B.

I would much rather see a 15 year old girl taking Plan B once or twice than getting pregnant. Why would anyone want a younger woman have more of a chance of getting pregnant?

I do have to disagree with the period thing. I have taken Plan B once or twice (I forget) and I took Ella once. My periods were absolutely the same any other. I get cramps and heavy bleeding anyway, but I didn't notice a difference.
04/17/2013
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
A similar drug is available called Ella. It is a progesterone blocker. It works a little differently than Plan B (which is a large dose of progestin)

Ella dose NOT "cause abortion" it simply prevents ovualtion in about 99% of cases and may make the uterus hostile to implantation in about 1% of cases if have already ovulated. Without implantation, there is NO pregnancy, thus no abortion. This drug is NOT the same as RU 486, The "abortion pill" that requires a medical exam and you have to already be pregnant. Ella will NOT cause an already implanted egg to dislodge under any circumstances.

You can get Ella for about $50.00 (I got a $10.00 off coupon somewhere when I had to buy it) and they ship it overnight air. Ella
04/17/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
A similar drug is available called Ella. It is a progesterone blocker. It works a little differently than Plan B (which is a large dose of progestin)

Ella dose NOT "cause abortion" it simply prevents ovualtion in about 99% of cases ... more
That's very helpful information, PGell, thank you for posting it!
04/17/2013
Contributor: BrittaniMaree BrittaniMaree
It depends/I'm not sure.
04/17/2013
Contributor: falalena falalena
Quote:
Originally posted by FieryRed
Article 1

Article 2

A District Court judge has ruled that the "morning after pill," or emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, must be made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17, as the FDA ... more
yes. hands down. no exceptions. if you need it, you should get it.
04/17/2013
Contributor: TheBadWife TheBadWife
I'm really torn. I'd love to say that it is the best idea ever to have it available (and don't misunderstand me; I think it is fabulous that it is being made more readily available). However, as with any drug that has side effects, I always worry that someone is going to take it out of desperation/perceived need and end up worse off.

Unfortunately, since you are talking about a drug that many confuse with RU 486, that has the stigma of being used only by those who are irresponsible and loose, and that some see as a big neon sign telling the world that they had sex and something went wrong, I worry that women won't talk to their pharmacists about whether it is safe for them specifically to take.

In an ideal world, every woman who took the drug would talk to their pharmacist, know if it was safe for them to take, and would feel confident in their decision to take it. I just don't know that we are at a point where women (in general - I know there are many women who feel plenty confident in doing what they need to, but I have also bought many a pregnancy test or condoms for friends because they were too scared to do it themselves) or society has done enough educating that I feel it is prudent to make it available over the counter.

But at the same time, to each their own. I wouldn't prevent it from being sold over the counter due to my own neuroses.
04/17/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by TheBadWife
I'm really torn. I'd love to say that it is the best idea ever to have it available (and don't misunderstand me; I think it is fabulous that it is being made more readily available). However, as with any drug that has side effects, I ... more
That seems like a very good reason to have reservations, Rosalu! My immediate thought process regarding the safety of the Plan B pill is that it's very likely to prevent far more health and life problems than it would cause.

My understanding is that, since it's already available OTC to women over 17, it must be one of the drugs that is kept behind the pharmacy counter, and must be asked for; also, that a woman must show her ID to prove her age. All this would obviously provide occasion for the pharmacist to talk to the woman and provide any needed health risk information. Now, if the age limit is removed, the need to show ID to a pharmacist would be gone, but I imagine the drug would still be kept behind the counter and would need to be specifically requested. Does anyone have definite info on how that would work?
04/18/2013
Contributor: WestTexasBarbie WestTexasBarbie
Quote:
Originally posted by FieryRed
Article 1

Article 2

A District Court judge has ruled that the "morning after pill," or emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, must be made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17, as the FDA ... more
This should definitely be available over the counter, no questions asked.
05/13/2013
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
I get so annoyed when I hear Plan B being referred to as an "abortion pill" (usually by the Religious Right.) It's definitely not an abortion pill and I think it should be available to all childbearing women.
05/13/2013
Contributor: A&M A&M
Quote:
Originally posted by FieryRed
Article 1

Article 2

A District Court judge has ruled that the "morning after pill," or emergency contraceptive, known as Plan B, must be made available without a prescription to women under the age of 17, as the FDA ... more
SO long as you are 18 I think it should be. As for those under that age I am still not sure what to say. I have a daughter and when she is 16 I would like to know if she is using something like that but at the same time I don't want her afraid to get it because I would have to sign off on it. Don't want to be a grandfather to soon. lol
05/15/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by A&M
SO long as you are 18 I think it should be. As for those under that age I am still not sure what to say. I have a daughter and when she is 16 I would like to know if she is using something like that but at the same time I don't want her afraid to ... more
Well, I can understand that concern! But it sounds like you're an involved and concerned father, and hopefully if your daughter DID have need of something like this at 16, she'd be able to tell you about it. However, there are many girls out there who, as a more extreme example, get date-raped and become pregnant, and know that they will be punished and possibly even physically harmed if they tell their parents, because the pregnancy will be viewed as "her fault."
05/15/2013
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by TheBadWife
I'm really torn. I'd love to say that it is the best idea ever to have it available (and don't misunderstand me; I think it is fabulous that it is being made more readily available). However, as with any drug that has side effects, I ... more
Plenty of people get an RX from their doctor and wind up worse off. Not much different here.

This discussion is slightly less timely now that Plan B has become available over the counter.
05/15/2013