So let’s get our learn on!
Emergency Contraception (EC) otherwise known as “the morning after pill” is a safe and effective way to help prevent pregnancy AFTER unprotected sex or birth control failure.
As a woman who volunteers with pregnant teens and homeless mothers I take this issue very seriously. EC is a part of choice and we’re going to have to fight to keep EC available…to educate the public about it…and to protect our right to use it.
EC is available without a prescription for women 18 years and older and can be obtained at the pharmacy. Women younger than 18 will need a prescription from their doctor or other heath care provider. Visit www.IneedEC.info for information.
We must be prepared to fight for the right of all women to be informed of this option when being counseled after rape. The victims of rape now have the option to prevent conception…the ability to take back that measure of power and control over their body…the blessing of not having to wait days or weeks to confirm their pregnancy status when they are already burden with test results to confirm all manner of other things.
I have met women who would have and I have met women who would not have taken EC after rape. All women deserved the respect and dignity of that choice.
EC is a higher dosage of the same hormones found in birth control pills.
We must be prepared to protect this choice the participants in “oh shit, it broke” incidents or the unfortunate attempt at the withdrawal method. I’ve witnessed all of the sad ramifications of a culture dedicated to raising young people in a state of reproductive ignorance and eager to punish them when they act based on what little they do know.
EC - when used within 5 days of unprotected sex - can significantly reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy.
Yes, we must fight for the protected right of all women to have this option. The young women I meet who knew that they will be kicked out of their home for “coming up pregnant”. The women who tell me how they wish there had been some other way.
There is.
There are safe and legal choices that empower rather than punish and we must be prepared to protect and defend them.
EC is NOT the same thing as Mifeprex or RU-486. EC will not terminate an existing pregnancy. EC will not work if a woman is already pregnant.
So, a bitch encourages y’all to get your learn on.
Educate others in your family, friendship circles and community.
Plan B® is the name of the "dedicated" EC product on the market. Plan B is available to women 18 and older and can be obtained from a pharmacist. Women younger than 18 need a prescription from their doctor or other heath care provider.
Knowledge has been, is now and forever will be power.
Which is why they fear it.
And why we must continue to seek it.
3 comments:
And I've heard that some women over 18 get it, have it on hand, and give it to women under 18 when needed. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and other women over 18. Just in case the need should arise when the doctor wasn't available. (In some of the small communities here in Alaska, there is no doctor except when one visits.) Letting their daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and friends know, of course. I know a retired woman who has a list of about six who know what she has in her medicine cabinet.
I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but taking multiple birth control pills is an option for women who are unable to obtain the morning-after pill (ask me how I know!). Information can be found at:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/emergency -contraception/how-to-take.htm
And while I'm at it, I thought I'd give you some props. You and all your damned talk of volunteering gave me the get up n' go I needed to get off my ass and start. It's my third week and I love it.
Whenever you fall into your blue funk, know that you're making a difference.
k
the stats I read say that, per capita, Salt Lake City has the highest usage rates of emergency contraception in the USA.
Because, you know, if you plan to have sex, it's more sinful than if it "just happens." Sorta like premeditated murder.
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