By Carrie Cabral, Contributor, Emerson College
I took Plan B once in my life, after a drunken one night stand. The guy I was with took the condom off in the middle of sex, without my knowledge, and left me to fend for myself. The most I got from him was a text that said “did you take it?” and some whining about how I didn’t tell him not to take it off when he did, so really, it was my own fault.
Luckily, I was nineteen at the time so I was able to buy Plan B on my own. A roommate of mine already had some that she was willing give to me, so I didn’t even have to go to the store and get it. I had only just got over the awkwardness of buying my own condoms, so again, I got lucky.
As I sat on my bed, looking at the menacing little box in front of me, I grew even angrier at my partner from the previous night. It occurred to me that he, nor any man, would ever have to know what it was like to have to worry about being pregnant. He’d never have to take this stupid, miniscule little pill and fuck up his body for a month. Nope, he could just take off the condom that I’d insisted on using, sleep with me, and walk away like it was nothing.
If you’ve paid attention, Plan B has been the source of concern for several groups, including women’s rights groups and medical professionals. Previously, the drug was only available for girls 17 and over; anyone 16 or younger was required to obtain a prescription. The FDA has now lifted the age restrictions, making Plan B one step available to women of all ages. I understand how lucky I was to just happen to know someone who had it, and that the government had deemed me the correct age to make my own decision about my reproductive system. A friend of mine, for example, was sixteen when she experienced a broken condom. Too embarrassed to even tell her mother that she was sexually active, she wrote her mother a note, handed it to her, and ran away in tears. Her mother bought it for her, but my friend had to deal with the demeaning experience in order to make the responsible decision.
Many women and girls are not as fortunate as me or my friend. Many do not have parents or adult figures in their lives that are old enough to get Plan B for them when there was an age limit. Besides this, no party other than the woman who is making this decision has the right to influence it. Not a parent, not a lawmaker, not a doctor, not an authority figure of any kind. Women make the decision to have sex, and sometimes choose to have unprotected sex. A girl who is fourteen or fifteen has made the decision to be sexually active, and she is the one who has to look at herself and ask if she’s ready for it. She is the one who has to face the consequences of unprotected sex, she has to look at the little box. She has to throw up and have irregular bleeding and cramps or whatever the symptoms, and know that some asshole took off the condom. Or, that she didn’t care if there was one.
It’s called Plan B for a reason. Taking this drug is not anyone’s idea of responsible birth control, it’s a last resort when shit happens. Age restrictions on contraceptives are just one more way to make women feel ashamed for their sexual decisions. I know that it is my choice to make the decision to have sex (because surprise, women find sex pleasurable too!) and it is also my choice to use an emergency contraceptive. Of course, all drugs have physical repercussions. I can tell you from experience that symptoms from Plan B, even normal ones, are awful. Regardless, that decision falls to one person, and it’s not some guy that sits at a desk and goes “hm, well I can never be pregnant so I should have a say in this.” So logical.
Luckily, I was nineteen at the time so I was able to buy Plan B on my own. A roommate of mine already had some that she was willing give to me, so I didn’t even have to go to the store and get it. I had only just got over the awkwardness of buying my own condoms, so again, I got lucky.
As I sat on my bed, looking at the menacing little box in front of me, I grew even angrier at my partner from the previous night. It occurred to me that he, nor any man, would ever have to know what it was like to have to worry about being pregnant. He’d never have to take this stupid, miniscule little pill and fuck up his body for a month. Nope, he could just take off the condom that I’d insisted on using, sleep with me, and walk away like it was nothing.
If you’ve paid attention, Plan B has been the source of concern for several groups, including women’s rights groups and medical professionals. Previously, the drug was only available for girls 17 and over; anyone 16 or younger was required to obtain a prescription. The FDA has now lifted the age restrictions, making Plan B one step available to women of all ages. I understand how lucky I was to just happen to know someone who had it, and that the government had deemed me the correct age to make my own decision about my reproductive system. A friend of mine, for example, was sixteen when she experienced a broken condom. Too embarrassed to even tell her mother that she was sexually active, she wrote her mother a note, handed it to her, and ran away in tears. Her mother bought it for her, but my friend had to deal with the demeaning experience in order to make the responsible decision.
Many women and girls are not as fortunate as me or my friend. Many do not have parents or adult figures in their lives that are old enough to get Plan B for them when there was an age limit. Besides this, no party other than the woman who is making this decision has the right to influence it. Not a parent, not a lawmaker, not a doctor, not an authority figure of any kind. Women make the decision to have sex, and sometimes choose to have unprotected sex. A girl who is fourteen or fifteen has made the decision to be sexually active, and she is the one who has to look at herself and ask if she’s ready for it. She is the one who has to face the consequences of unprotected sex, she has to look at the little box. She has to throw up and have irregular bleeding and cramps or whatever the symptoms, and know that some asshole took off the condom. Or, that she didn’t care if there was one.
It’s called Plan B for a reason. Taking this drug is not anyone’s idea of responsible birth control, it’s a last resort when shit happens. Age restrictions on contraceptives are just one more way to make women feel ashamed for their sexual decisions. I know that it is my choice to make the decision to have sex (because surprise, women find sex pleasurable too!) and it is also my choice to use an emergency contraceptive. Of course, all drugs have physical repercussions. I can tell you from experience that symptoms from Plan B, even normal ones, are awful. Regardless, that decision falls to one person, and it’s not some guy that sits at a desk and goes “hm, well I can never be pregnant so I should have a say in this.” So logical.