The Food and Drug Administration has been ordered by a U.S. District Court to start allowing young women aged 17 or more to buy the “Plan B” drug Levonorgestrel, over the counter without a prescription.
Levonorgestrel is a “morning after” contraceptive.
Well, that’s a start but what about all those 12 year old and up females we keep hearing about that are gettiing pregnant? At that age, they’re still children. They’re still children at 18 for that matter but that’s a different rant. The point is that when the juices are hot and flowing, brains are shelved for the duration. People that age don’t think ahead, all they care about is what they want now. Then afterward it’s “Oh my God, I could get PREGNANT.”
Why withhold this drug from those who need it most, the Young and Stupid? If the boyfriend didn’t take any precautions beforehand, why be surprised? How many adolescent sex fiends do you know of that go around with condoms in their pockets? We never did. The argument against this, from religious conservative groups, is that parents have a right to be notified and to withhold their consent. Well, that depends, wouldn’t you say? Did they give their consent for their kid to screw? What are we more against, underage sex, or underage pregnancies and unwanted children?
The FDA is trying to enforce its private moral code. They had placed a limit of age 18 or older for buying the drug over the counter until the court forced them to reduce the age limit and they still haven’t actually complied yet. The FDA sent a letter to the manufacturer of Plan B that the company may, upon submission and approval of an appropriate application, market Plan B without a prescription to women 17 years of age and older.”
Approval? By whom? Appropriate? Who designates that? It may end up taking a Contempt of Court decision and a good hard slap to get the FDA out of the moralizing business.
I quite agree. Who cares about morality? I have no idea what it means personally, all that matters is practical outcome.
Fatherless children of young immature mothers account for a lot of the crime/welfare dependency in the UK and I suspect it is the same in the US. How much “black” crime is actually down to that cultural trait? It is a problem that perpetuates itself and anything that might reduce it is a plus.
Whether these pills help in the UK where a baby provides a young talentless mother with a free flat and welfare payments curtesy of the taxpayer is another matter.