I listen to WCBS 880 in the morning when I wake up. I always like the Osgood file, but there was an especially good one about the morning after pill on Tuesday. The last line is the best.
MAKING ROOM FOR “PLAN B.�
It’s been two-and-a-half years since the FDA’s own scientists pronounced “Plan Bâ€Â? – the morning-after pill – safe enough to be sold over the counter to women of all ages. But the FDA overruled its scientists saying that even if it is safe, we don’t want to make it too easily available because, well…
One reason appears to be that surprise pregnancies make life interesting. “Very often, unintended pregnancies are not unnecessarily unwanted pregnancies,” Ann Scheidler of the Pro Life Action League. But now, the FDA has changed its mind and will allow over the counter sales of “Plan Bâ€Â? to women over 18. Under 18, you’d still have to consult a doctor. Or more likely, steal some from Mom.
Dr. Vanessa Cullins of Planned Parenthood says the age restriction is ridiculous. “The public counts on the FDA to make sound scientific decisions and to not be caught up into politics and ideology.” But Ann Scheidler says making “Plan Bâ€Â? too easy to get is asking for trouble. “This whole business of the morning after pill to recover from ‘Oh gosh, we made this mistake’ … you know, there’s so much contraception available anyway that I think the morning after pill just encourages irresponsible behavior.”
… By which I believe she means couples would get the green light to start having sex outside wedlock, strictly for pleasure. By keeping the risk of pregnancy present, heterosexual men and women would be deterred from having irresponsible sex.
Perhaps making “Plan Bâ€Â? difficult to get might even encourage couples to adopt the only truly foolproof contraception which is, of course, to become gay. Then, the birth control is built in. That would be … “Plan C.â€Â?
