In the span of our lives we have seen national crisis come and go: The Vietnam War in the 60's, the drug epidemic of the 70's, and the AIDS crisis in the 80's. Most of these conflicts were managed by government control with plans and policy making they slowly settled. Today, in light of recent FDA decisions, we could be in the face of another serious epidemic that would affect especially the young women of today. Teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and unprotected sex are all words that seem hard to swallow when talking about our own kids. However, these terrifying instances could eventually become a fierce reality spinning from the FDA's decision to make Plan B emergency contraceptives available over the counter.
[...] The age limit set by the FDA is also important to note because it deflects the argument that teens will have unlimited access to the pill and become more sexually promiscuous in their behavior. But perhaps the strongest reason that it was the right decision for the FDA to approve Plan B for over the counter sales lies within the nature of the drug itself. As you may all know, the morning after pill must be taken within 72 of unprotected sex to prevent the pregnancy from happening. [...]
[...] These insights unfortunately can't be proven by factual research yet because Plan B has only been available OTC for a few months however; these thoughts about human nature and indulgences seem to fit an overall trend in how some people act. Say for instance that there was a pill available that had the ability to counteract all types of harmful and unhealthy food decisions that caused people to gain weight. Referring back to the humanistic insights, people would more than likely go on to abuse this pill, eating unhealthy foods everyday with the assurance that the pill would simply erase there damaging actions. [...]
[...] In a figure outlined by the New York Times in a May article, the United States ranks top on the number of abortions performed yearly by developed nations stating there are 6.4 million pregnancies a year in the U.S million of which are unintended and 1.3 million of which end in abortion. In the years since the last such study, the overall unintended-pregnancy rate has remained unchanged; for women below the poverty level it increased 29 percent” (SHORTO). This is an alarming yet avoidable statistic. [...]
[...] In an article for a Canadian Medical Journal, author Milan Korcok puts this beliefs into perspective saying imposing the 18-year-old limitation would be as ineffective as similar limitations on cigarettes and could be easily circumvented by 18 year olds buying the drugs for younger friends. In turn, teenagers would have the freedom to experiment with more casual sex and simply neglect protection where it is needed knowing they could get away with it. Overall I believe that the FDA's decision should continue to be heavily scrutinized and it is our duty to make them aware of these extended implications. [...]
[...] To deny a patient their necessary medication in a time of need is unprofessional and wrong. How many unwanted pregnancies could have been prevented if women would have had the quick, easy access to The Pill we have today? This we'll never know, but for now we can rest assure that the FDA has finally honored one of the most important issues to us: control of our own bodies. I'm writing to you not solely as a doctor, or columnist but more importantly as a woman. [...]
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