The Morning After Pill in the Age of Pedophiles
I am interrupting my Toddler Moms and Dads series for a matter that is too important not to address in a timely manner. Some have been criticizing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for overturning the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to remove the age limit on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s Plan B One-Step birth control commonly called the “morning after pill,” and make it available over-the-counter to children sixteen-years-old and younger without a prescription. I have even heard some claim that this was a strictly political move on the part of Sebelius and the President. Currently, the drug is available without a prescription to females 17 years of age and older, but they must show proof of age and receive instruction from the pharmacist. Children under the age of 17 years must obtain a prescription. To be effective the drug must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
I fully understand the desire to make reproductive healthcare rights available to all persons irrespective of age. However, in the current environment, where most of us are painfully aware of the sexual abuse of children, I find the argument in favor of over-the-counter availability for the morning after pill to be shallow. The pregnancy of a girl 11-16 years of age is not just a biological matter, but a bio-psycho-social matter that cannot be resolved by the taking of a pill. If a girl of 11-16 years becomes pregnant, there is a good chance that the male who has made her pregnant is over 16 years of age, and may well even be over 21. If the morning after pill were available over-the-counter, such a male could purchase the pill, even in large quantities, and have a younger girl take the pill each time after he has unprotected sex with her. The child might not even know what she is taking. Such a pill being available over-the-counter is a pedophile’s dream. The administration has cited the possibility of children 11-years-old not fully understanding the written instructions as a major reason for having an age cutoff for obtaining the drug without a prescription. The problem, in my opinion, is not so much whether an 11-year-old girl (or younger) would understand the accompanying written instructions, but whether she would even see the instructions.
Making it necessary for a girl under 17 years of age to obtain a prescription means that hopefully responsible adults will become aware of her situation, and make themselves available for guidance. If the girl is not comfortable telling a parent, there are Planned Parenthoods and other clinics that can treat young people regarding reproductive issues in many states without informing the child’s parents, and most sexually active females are aware of such places. Some go to clinics for birth control, and those who are sexually active and not using birth control might want to consider the unplanned situation as an opportunity to discuss with clinic staff how to make better plans for the future—with or without sex. This opportunity for counseling and expanded reproductive care is not present in an over-the-counter situation. Just as important however, is the fact that these clinics are mandatory child abuse reporters and if they learn that a child has been statutorily and/or otherwise raped they can intercede and hopefully put a stop to the abuse for that child and others who may be preyed upon.
Regarding the claim that not having over-the-counter availability to the morning after pill unnecessarily subjects adult women to the ill regard of pharmacists, all I can say is, “Get over it.” There are bigger concerns. Adult women already have to see pharmacists for birth control pills and diaphragms…, and most pharmacists are professional in this regard. Pharmacists who have a problem with the-morning-after pill would probably also have a problem with other forms of oral contraception and likely would simply not carry it, if it were legal not to in that state. The needs of children must come first and, in my opinion, leaving children to obtain the morning after pill over-the-counter on their own is not meeting their needs.
Devorah Ann Fox, Psy.D.
**Nothing connected to this blog or website should be considered to be counseling, psychotherapy, or treatment of any kind.**
