There is such a misconception about the morning after pill, that it's an easy way to do birth control.
IT SUCKS.
I've had to use it twice, and both times it was horrific. It rivaled salmonella poisoning in the "worst I have ever felt" category. People who say girls will use this instead of being safe have no idea... for most girls, it would happen exactly once. I certainly wouldn't have used it the second time if there wasn't a very good reason.
That said, the age restriction thing is going to be a big problem, but as long as they realize it's just like cigarettes and alcohol -- if someone under the age limit wants it, they'll find someone to buy it for them -- it should be fine. Let's hope they don't have a double-standard for it. Ha.
People who say girls will use this instead of being safe have no idea...
There is much about the issue of sex and sex education that makes me say, "People have no idea." Top on that list is the idea that abstinence-only education will prevent sex.
See, I'd be mored worried about horny boys using the excuse "I have no condom, but you can use the morning after pill!"
Eeeeeeeeek!
But I think it is brilliant tohave it so available. And yes, it's not something you enter into lightly. :-) I felt sick for a week or two afterwards, and thought my period would come immediately. But, it didn't, and I felt off kilter until it did.
I took the more recent version of Plan B, and although I experienced no physical discomfort from taking it, it has screwed up my system.
However, I was so incredibly relieved when the women at the Feminist Health Clinic gave it to me. I think I wouldn't have freaked out nearly enough if I'd been able to go to a drugstore and pick it up at work that morning instead of waiting all day. Hooray! I hope it goes through...
The one time that I really needed the morning after pill (Dec 19 2005), I ended up taking my own version rather than admitting my mistake to a doctor. "My own version" consisted of 4 to 6 birth control pills a day for a week (the amount of time that semen can stay alive in a woman's body), which made me horribly sick even for a week after I stopped. And this was right at the time that I started my hydrogen computational fluid dynamics research. Ugh. I really think it would have been better if I had at least taken a proven method of preventing pregnancy, since then I wouldn't have had to worry quite so much about the possibility of a baby during the time that I was puking my guts up...
Wow, scary that people are that dumb, and yeah I imagine taking it once should be enough given peoples' experiences. I have never had to use it (knocking on everything wood in my house) and I hope I never need to, but it's nice to know I have the choice to get one rather easily should I ever really need it.
While I think there are a lot more scary things to worry about when having unprotected sex then just an unwanted pregnancy(although that's scary too), I do applaud them for bringing this option forward. There are many couples out there who ended up being parents when they probably shouldn't have. If this prevents the unwanted babies, how can it really be a bad thing?
When referring to dumb people, I meant the people who assume that teens will use this as birth control. I still think safe sex is the best thing to preach...
See, I dunno... I agree that SOME kind of female birth control should be over-the-counter, I just don't know if the morning after pill (MAP) is it. I mean, it's called Plan B for a reason. There are bunches of community centers all around to help girls (even under the age of 18) get access to birth control, and most places have sliding pay scales to help people with low income. Yes, yes, making the MAP public will help with unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and all that, but if we can fund and support the "Plan A" part, less girls would have to consider the "Plan B" option. I understand that it may have been "in the heat of the moment..." that a condom wasn't put on, spermicide wasn't applied (which is dangerous for a woman too), a diaphragm wasn't inserted, but that's just another reason why having hormonal birth control is so great, because it's always there. I admit that I am fortuitously biased in this because I was able to talk my parents into supporting my birth contol while I was in high school, but I don't think that that makes
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IT SUCKS.
I've had to use it twice, and both times it was horrific. It rivaled salmonella poisoning in the "worst I have ever felt" category. People who say girls will use this instead of being safe have no idea... for most girls, it would happen exactly once. I certainly wouldn't have used it the second time if there wasn't a very good reason.
That said, the age restriction thing is going to be a big problem, but as long as they realize it's just like cigarettes and alcohol -- if someone under the age limit wants it, they'll find someone to buy it for them -- it should be fine. Let's hope they don't have a double-standard for it. Ha.
Reply
There is much about the issue of sex and sex education that makes me say, "People have no idea." Top on that list is the idea that abstinence-only education will prevent sex.
Reply
Eeeeeeeeek!
But I think it is brilliant tohave it so available. And yes, it's not something you enter into lightly.
:-)
I felt sick for a week or two afterwards, and thought my period would come immediately. But, it didn't, and I felt off kilter until it did.
Reply
However, I was so incredibly relieved when the women at the Feminist Health Clinic gave it to me. I think I wouldn't have freaked out nearly enough if I'd been able to go to a drugstore and pick it up at work that morning instead of waiting all day. Hooray! I hope it goes through...
Reply
The one time that I really needed the morning after pill (Dec 19 2005), I ended up taking my own version rather than admitting my mistake to a doctor. "My own version" consisted of 4 to 6 birth control pills a day for a week (the amount of time that semen can stay alive in a woman's body), which made me horribly sick even for a week after I stopped. And this was right at the time that I started my hydrogen computational fluid dynamics research. Ugh. I really think it would have been better if I had at least taken a proven method of preventing pregnancy, since then I wouldn't have had to worry quite so much about the possibility of a baby during the time that I was puking my guts up...
Reply
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When referring to dumb people, I meant the people who assume that teens will use this as birth control. I still think safe sex is the best thing to preach...
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