Mommyish Poll: Do You Think Plan B Should Be Available Over The Counter?

In case you missed it, emergency contraception or Plan B was almost made available in American drug stores before the ruling was overturned in the “eleventh hour” to quote The New York Times — and all because of the “safety” of young girls.

The FDA had signed off on the drug being safe for any girl of childbearing age whether that be 16 years old or 11 years old. But the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ultimately overturned the decision saying that girls may not “understand” how to take two pills with a glass of water without adult supervision.

At present in the United States, you must be at least 17 to access the drug at a pharmacy with proof of age. And if you’re say 16 and a half and were the victim of rape by your boyfriend, than you’re just out of luck. You need to get to a doctor who will hopefully write you that prescription and all while that 72-hour window is rapidly closing.

One of our Mommyish commentators noted that Aspirin, diet pills, cold medication (which can make you very loopy if abused), and stimulants are usually all right out in the open in drug stores for kids to “pop like candy,” should they wish. And yet this drug which could prevent many unplanned pregnancies and abortions, even among girls who followed safe practices and found themselves at the other end of a broken condom for instance, has been deemed too complex for girls to use correctly.

So how does the Mommyish crowd feel about this ruling? Fill us in and sound off.

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(photo:theplanbpill.com)