Plan B Parents Not Needed

Plan B: Parents Not NeededImagine you are unaware that your 13-year-old daughter is sexually active and she’s worried that she may get pregnant.

Since she doesn’t want to confide in you, what can she do?

Simple. She asks her older boyfriend to drive her to a local pharmacy where she can pick up Plan B, one of the over-the-counter drugs designed to ensure she doesn’t have a baby.

How is it possible for a minor to get this dangerous drug? It first became available by prescription in 1999. Then in 2006 the FDA announced that Plan B would become available without a prescription for women 18 and older. Younger girls still needed a prescription.

No Prescription; No ID; Any Age

The age for no prescription was lowered to 17 in 2009. Then in 2013, the FDA dropped all precautions making the drug available in store isles for people of any age. No prescription or ID is required.

In 2013, Today conducted an opinion poll of parents’ reaction to the change. One parent said: “This will not end up good…young girls thinking ‘I can just get the pill,’ instead of using their heads and respecting themselves and waiting to be old enough to know what sex really is…it is about teaching them…to respect themselves and their bodies.”

“This is a tragic example of separating parents from their children,” said Ricardo Davis, Georgia Right to Life (GRL) President. “It’s no wonder young girls feel free to be sexually active without consequences.”

Also known as the “morning after” pill, it is not the same as the abortion pill, or RU-486. It is not designed to terminate a pregnancy. Rather, it works by delaying, or even preventing, the release of an egg from the ovary. It must be taken within 72 hours after engaging in unprotected sex.

Physical Risks

It is not always effective and there is a risk that it could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, thereby acting as an abortifacient and killing a pre-born child.

Side effects may include: nausea or vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, headache, breast tenderness, bleeding between periods or heavier menstrual bleeding, and lower abdominal pain or cramps.

Aside from aiding immoral behavior, this drug is dangerous—five times more powerful than basic contraceptives, and many parents are unaware that they are readily available to their minor daughter.

Please share this information with family members, friends and your church.

Source: verywellhealth.com; today.com.

By Wayne DuBois
Georgia Right to Life
Media Relations Advisor