A Plan A for "Plan B"?

There has been a fury of press coverage in the USA recently about Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and a vending machine that dispenses Plan B, also known as the "Morning After Pill", a form of emergency contraception. If taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, Plan B is as high as 89% effective. The controversial machine is not new to the campus, it was installed well over a year ago, but in light of the birth control debate simmering between impending Republican candidates and President Obama, the machine's existence was brought to light, and is now being hotly debated. Arguments from those opposed to the machine include a concern that there is some sort of financial benefit to pharmaceutical companies skipping over pharmacies and putting their drugs into vending machines. This is of course a concern if the vending machine in question was dispensing psychotropic drugs or anti-depressants, but we are talking about a drug that does not require a prescription and is readily available over the counter to just about anyone who requests it. According to federal law, the drug can be given to anyone who is over the age of 17 years old.

And then there is the age old religious argument. Fundamental Christians have long made the claim that dispensing Plan B is the same as supporting abortion, which they vehemently oppose. In fact, according to a website called Christian Family Planning, when discussing the birth control pill, say  "Christians would consider emergency contraception an abortifacient -- a drug that causes a very early abortion". This "dogma" also applies to victims of sexual assault. Plan B, if made accessible, has the potential to reduce the increasing teenage birthrate by almost half! That is a staggering, and hopeful statistic, in my opinion. The United States, as with many other industrialized nations with declining economies in the world, are suffering from burgeoning birthrates, and most are from uneducated, unemployed, at risk adolescents, so rather than pay for hundreds of thousands of unwanted babies, why not provide the opportunity for a young woman to right her wrong?

An argument put forth by the medical community convenient access to Plan B will serve to discourage sexual assault victims from going to a hospital to report their injuries. This is not a valid argument. The fact that a rape victim can purchase emergency contraception with near absolute anonymity, can be quite empowering for a rape victim. Walking into a hospital to be poke and prodded like a caged animal can be overwhelming, and if women can attempt to eliminate the possibility of being pregnant by their attacker, Plan B can be welcome option.