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Image courtesy of CBS News
As the mother of three daughters I keep my eye on things that have to do with birth control. Especially now that two of those girls are getting to the age where birth control might be becoming necessary. And I just have to say that the idea that there will be a drug my 11 year old daughter and 14 year old daughter could buy over the counter the day after a stupid mistake scares me. The only promising idea behind this whole thing is it appears that the approved for sale without a prescription over the counter Plan B drug will cost somewhere around $50. Currently there is no way either of my daughters could afford that. However, if they get a job which pays more than $5 a week walking the neighbors dog, then all that might change.
Hear Me Out On This
I keep hearing moms of daughters saying how great this is for our daughters and women in general. It’s a step in the right direction. And I’m sitting here looking at my sun kissed 11 year old and 14 year old and thinking you think these are people who are responsible enough to use a drug that’s sole purpose is to prevent an unwanted pregnancy from happening after allowing themselves to get carried away. My 11 year old daughter who even after I handed sun screen to for her field trip which consisted of a day of outdoor fun in the sun completely forgot to bring it. My 14 year old who went on a similar field trip who did bring the sunscreen I sent her with, forgot to apply it to her face and is now the color of a cooked lobster. Yup, that’s right, even after an entire lifetime of using an over the counter product that is meant to prevent an uncomfortable situation both of my daughters were unable to do so effectively. Apparently according to the government they are responsible enough to take a medication to stop an unwanted pregnancy though. They couldn’t prevent an unwanted sunburn even with all of the tools and information I have given them to do so, but lets give them access to a drug that will prevent them from getting pregnant after an even bigger stupid mistake.
Yeah, that will work. And just thinking about the conversation over dinner about the sunburn. They wish there was a magical cure for sunburn that would just make it all go away. Well of course don’t we all wish life worked that way. That all of our mistakes could be magically erased without having to deal with any of the pain. But when you think about it, that’s exactly what Plan B could end up being for them. That magical cure to prevent pregnancy when they do something they shouldn’t have done in the first place that they have had drilled into them for as long as they can remember.
Do you all remember what you were like as a teenager? You didn’t think about the consequences of your actions in the moment. It was all about instant gratification. And when it’s all said and done and it’s clear that you didn’t think before you acted you still would manage to find a way to blame it on someone else. Come on, how many times did you hear a phrase from your parents like, “If so and so jumped off a bridge would you do it too?” I heard that a lot and have even said it a lot. Rarely do teenagers take responsibility for their own actions. Heck, many adults still don’t take responsibility for their own actions still. Some people never grew up I guess.
It’s Not Always A Stupid Mistake
Now I know Plan B isn’t only going to be used as birth control when a girl just forgets to use protection. I am very much aware that date rape or just rape in general happens and that’s humiliating enough. And then to have to report it, most girls don’t because it dredges up all of those terrible memories. However, in those situations if my daughter can’t come to me I would want her to go to the doctor. I don’t want my daughter carrying that around herself at all and an unwanted pregnancy that resulted from a rape would be extremely difficult, but there’s nothing easy about rape. There are no easy answers to this. Would a young teenage girl after being raped be capable of going to the pharmacy even to get Plan B within the time limit that it’s effective? Who knows.
But think about the first time you purchased condoms. How easy was that experience? Everyone knows what you’re planning on doing. That’s part of why condoms began being handed out at school to kids so everyone would have one for that just in case moment. So is that going to be the next proposal? Lets hand out Plan B to all girls for those just in case moments.
That’s not what I want. Ideally my daughters could come to me to talk about what happened. But if not, I would want them to at least seek medical help. Whether it was because they made a mistake or because they were attacked, but especially because they were attacked. Because there is a whole host of other concerns I would have and I would want my daughter to get the proper medical care to ensure she didn’t get any STDs and to make sure she gets whatever mental and emotional support she needs.
No, not all children live in a home where a parent would try to understand situations and would listen to their daughter. Some girls sadly are living in abusive households. Homes where they truly could not go to their parents. Where they fear going to the doctor even. But this just is not the answer. This isn’t going to make that home life any better.
I Need To Know
I need to know what medications my child is taking. I need to know if she is using it wrong in case she has a reaction to it. Even my teenager taking Tylenol I require her to tell me first so I know if something happens the doctor can give her the proper medical care. I need to know these things. I know I won’t always know. I know my daughter doesn’t tell me everything. There are things she thinks just aren’t important, but I know differently. She might think no big deal, I can take this drug it’s over the counter. But what if there’s something in her medical history that makes it unsafe? What happens with repeated use of this drug to young girls? What if she takes it wrong?
Some girls become sexually active as early as 12 years old. Lets say every sexual encounter they have from the time they are 12 until they are 18 they use Plan B as birth control. Lets say that’s thousands of sexual experiences in that time frame. What sort of impact will that kind of usage of the medication have on a young girl? You know a girl isn’t going to read any sort of warnings. Especially a girl who thinks so low of herself that at 12 years old she’s looking for love in all the wrong places. She doesn’t care about ten or twenty years from now. She doesn’t even think ten minutes from now. So even if there are warnings about using Plan B so many times she’s either not going to see that or she’s just not going to care, because when you’re that young, nothing bad ever happens to you.
Children should not be making medical decisions on their own. Children should at least have to see a doctor to get a prescription for something like this. I understand crucial time is wasted waiting to see a doctor and getting a prescription and being at the mercy of a pharmacy’s hours, but our daughters should not have access to something that can so easily be abused. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen with this new access to everyone for Plan B drug is going to cause. I’m sorry if it makes it more difficult for adults to gain access to this stuff, but you know what? There are plenty of medications that are behind the pharmacy counter to help deter their misuse. Why should Plan B be any different?
Do you think Plan B should be available to everyone without a prescription?
