The Morning After Pill
The current administrative theory about the morning after pill is not so much that it'll promote promiscuity, The Pill already does that, but more about the lack of safe sex. Certain Personages seem to think that this particular product will be viewed as a form of front-line contraception. And since this particular form of front-line contraception is not a barrier method, then all those fun STDs we learned about in school are perfectly transmissible. Therefore, the morning-after pill should ONLY be used after another barrier method has failed. Since you can't regulate that if the morning-after pill is over-the-counter (OTC), then you have to make it available only by prescription.
Logical so far as it goes. I will now point out that the same can be said about the birth control pill, and that is also (still) prescription-only.
ideally, both should be OTC. Yes, they both contain hormones that can screw a body up if misused, but there benefits really are present. The morning-after pill prevents an already fertilized ova from implanting in the uterus. The Pill prevents viable ova from being released in the first place. The morning after pill needs to be taken, well, the morning after unprotected intercourse. Preferably not after shelling out umpteen bucks for an emergency doctor appointment to pay another umpteen bucks for the non-insurance-covered drug.
Strangely, the debate over contraception is devolved to around two points:
1: Prevent the spread of diseases
2: Prevent teen pregnancy
Preventing of pregnancy in older women is somehow being dropped from the debate all together. And in this case, the presence of easily available alternate means of contraception is preventing this new last-ditch method from being available.
*inserts tongue into cheek*
Perhaps what we really need here is a division of Birth Control into two categories.
As the name suggests, this would include the devices used to prevent pregnancy. Such things as The Pill, the morning-after pill, and that odd testicular immersion method that reduces the sperm-count to zero would count under this category.
Sexual Disease transmission Inhibition Methods
As any sex-ed teacher is required to tell you, there is no sure-fire way to avoid sex-cooties and pregnancy but for plain not having sex in the first place. But who does that anyway? This category would include all those barrier methods we've come to expect. Like condoms, the female condom, and the diaphram. The big killers are blocked by these methods, usually, but the lesser problems (genital herpes anyone?) not so much.
OBVIOUSLY we need to restrict access to pregnancy prevention methods, but widely distribute the disease prevention methods. Stuff that prevents disease transmission and also prevents pregnancy, bonus! Legalize it for wide distribution! But anything that allows you to have pregnancy-free nookie without helping the public good by blocking diseases? Ban it!
*unplants tongue*
Logical so far as it goes. I will now point out that the same can be said about the birth control pill, and that is also (still) prescription-only.
ideally, both should be OTC. Yes, they both contain hormones that can screw a body up if misused, but there benefits really are present. The morning-after pill prevents an already fertilized ova from implanting in the uterus. The Pill prevents viable ova from being released in the first place. The morning after pill needs to be taken, well, the morning after unprotected intercourse. Preferably not after shelling out umpteen bucks for an emergency doctor appointment to pay another umpteen bucks for the non-insurance-covered drug.
Strangely, the debate over contraception is devolved to around two points:
1: Prevent the spread of diseases
2: Prevent teen pregnancy
Preventing of pregnancy in older women is somehow being dropped from the debate all together. And in this case, the presence of easily available alternate means of contraception is preventing this new last-ditch method from being available.
*inserts tongue into cheek*
Perhaps what we really need here is a division of Birth Control into two categories.
- Pregnancy prevention methods
- Sexual disease transmission inhibition methods
As the name suggests, this would include the devices used to prevent pregnancy. Such things as The Pill, the morning-after pill, and that odd testicular immersion method that reduces the sperm-count to zero would count under this category.
Sexual Disease transmission Inhibition Methods
As any sex-ed teacher is required to tell you, there is no sure-fire way to avoid sex-cooties and pregnancy but for plain not having sex in the first place. But who does that anyway? This category would include all those barrier methods we've come to expect. Like condoms, the female condom, and the diaphram. The big killers are blocked by these methods, usually, but the lesser problems (genital herpes anyone?) not so much.
OBVIOUSLY we need to restrict access to pregnancy prevention methods, but widely distribute the disease prevention methods. Stuff that prevents disease transmission and also prevents pregnancy, bonus! Legalize it for wide distribution! But anything that allows you to have pregnancy-free nookie without helping the public good by blocking diseases? Ban it!
*unplants tongue*
posted by Corwin at 12:16 PM
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