In the face of Rush Limbaugh, the Mormons, Levi whathisname, beauty queens, Perez Hilton and those hilarious teabaggers, it’s nice to see good news…. as in, the quiet, yet firm strides the Obama administration is taking to right the wrongs of the past eight years.
In particular, I’m glad to see our president has decided the government should get out of my uterus. Seriously. It’s not the town square or some religious facility. Everyone isn’t invited nor will there be refreshments. Get the fuck out.
So, today, the federal government said that the morning-after pill (Plan B) will be available, without prescription, to women 17 years of age and older. The decision came with the following explanation:
“The Food and Drug Administration took the action to comply with a judge’s ruling last month holding that the agency’s 2006 decision to limit availability of the controversial contraceptive to women 18 and older was invalid and politically motivated.”
Actually, you can strike the “politically” and insert “religiously” and then that statement is accurate. Because we know that allowing women the right to their own reproductive decisions is a big no-no in religious circles. I mean, what’s next… showing your ankles in public?
What makes my brain hurt the most isn’t that the fact that this article reminds me of just how bad things were under the previous administration. It’s this quote from a representative for “conservative” women:
“This decision is driven by politics, not what is good for patients or minors,” said Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America. “Parents should be furious at the FDA’s complete disregard of parental rights and the safety of minors.”
*drums fingers on desk*
“Rights”? What, exactly, are the parental rights being stripped away here? The right to force your daughter to carry a child she does not want, possibly cannot support and might not be emotionally ready to have?
“Safety of minors”? Take a pill versus carrying a child to term and all the myriad of complications that can occur along the way? Gestational diabetes, developmental problems, pre-mature delivery and, goodness forbid, miscarriage… just to name a few.
Sometimes I forget that religion not only demands you turn over your faith, but your brains as well.
*bimbles off*
#1 by Ole Blue on April 23, 2009 - 5:35 pm
Men get out of the uterus and spend their lifetime getting back in….that was the worse joke I ever wrote.
I want the government out of my bed and I want a nymphomaniac in my bed. I wonder if Santa Claus can help.
#2 by Kathy on April 23, 2009 - 7:09 pm
I agree!!
I must say however, it worries me that some (this is according to lastnight’s Ten o’clock news) are trying to push for Plan-B to be made available over the counter to anyone, any age no prescription necessary, no questions asked.
Sorry, but I strenuously disagree with the idea that little girls, girls who have to reach the point that they can be truely considered young ladies, who are not even old enough to drive, are somehow old eough to make their own decisions about sex and child birth. This is not the sort of thing they need to be handling without trusted adult guidance.
#3 by Lab Kat on April 23, 2009 - 8:10 pm
You have to be 17 years of age or older. Unfortunately, opponents are doing a good job of get misinformation out there… that younger girls, 14 or 15… will have access. They won’t.
Frankly, I think if you can be tried as an adult in court at 17, you can make your own decisions regarding Plan-B.
#4 by Steve Bates on April 25, 2009 - 11:17 am
Kathy, have you any idea how often these “little girls” become pregnant when they are sexually assaulted by their own fathers? No? I thought not. “Going to her parents” is not an option for such a young woman. No, not her mother, either. Here’s an all-too-common scenario: dad rapes and impregnates minor daughter; daughter goes to mother; mother confronts dad; dad beats the crap out of one or both of them… sometimes to death.
The vast majority of pregnant teen girls who were not raped by a family member do, in fact, consult their parents. Those who do not usually have life-or-death reasons for not doing so.
Kathy, please do not project your own ideal Ward-and-June-Cleaver family onto the rest of the world: many teens are not so fortunate as to have rational, caring parents. Judge not, etc.
#5 by Lab Kat on April 25, 2009 - 10:07 pm
Steve: I have to interject something here. Kathy happens to be my best friend. And, while she is MORE than capable to defending her arguments here, I will say this: she does not have a “Leave it to Beaver” view of the world. Trust me. Her’s is not a traditional household. And, while she is much more conservative than me in some areas, she is an intelligent person with rational, well thought-out beliefs. She has seen a lot in her life and her experiences have made her a compassionate person.
I do believe there is room for thoughtful debate on allowing access to this pill to women under the age of 17. Unfortunately, people like you and I and Kathy aren’t the ones who make the most noise on these issues. It’s the extremists.
#6 by Steve Bates on May 4, 2009 - 11:12 am
LK, I do not know Kathy. I made an assumption… apparently incorrect, according to your remarks… that she categorizes young women as “little girls” for the usual reason, namely, that she has no experience, first- or secondhand, with the things my clinician colleagues 20 years ago observed. (I am not a clinician; I was their programmer.) God help anyone who has those experiences firsthand, because in America, they have few other sources of help.
The rest of my comment… the description of parental abuse, the observation that almost all pregnant women under 18 do in fact consult their parents… is straight out of either published studies or the direct observations of my former colleagues.
I would be thrilled to live in a world in which Plan B was not necessary. But it is. And it should be available without constraint or permission to anyone who is capable of becoming pregnant. I stand by my original comment: it is just plain wrong to condemn young women who are sexually abused by their fathers to carry their pregnancy to term.