I’m sure a lot of young folks out there can relate to that feeling of despair that comes with pulling out and spotting a broken rubber.

The heart starts racing, and you gotta take a seat. Your whole life starts flashing before your eyes. Will I have to marry her? Shit, how do I break it to the parents? I can’t afford an abortion! I’ll be in debt for months! Besides, my moms pro-life! It’ll never happen. I’m FUCKED.

I’m just sayin’, life would be a lot easier for everyone if youngsters could buy the after pill over the counter like a bottle of Ibuprofen.

So, the FDA has decided to allow people as young as seventeen to buy Plan B without prescription. Wow, that’s a shift, now isn’t it? One whole year earlier!

It’s bullshit, I know, but it’s a step in the right direction. I have a feeling the only reason there’s still any amount of restriction placed on the ease of purchase is to please what I like to call ‘haters’ – otherwise known as conservatives.

Either way, I don’t see it taking very long for the FDA to just make it an over the counter drug. Let’s not kid ourselves, pretty much everyone who’s gonna be bangin’ most likely has a friend who’s seventeen or older. Someone they go to school with, a sibling, someone they’re in a program with, or even a friend of a friend. It’s not like anybody who needs the after pill can’t necessarily get it. Lies and deceit are a common thing in our society, and the youth master them.

This little controversy over access to the after pill has been going on for the better part of a decade, and has only now broken the age barrier. For a while it wasn’t available to anyone without a prescription. Finally, about three years ago, it was made available to adults without a prescription, but teens still needed a prescription, or help to start planning a baby shower.

It’s not that huge a step, it’s true, but it’s better than nothing. Most issues like this slowly inch their way, step by step, to the desired outcome. It’s only to be expected. At least over the counter access has finally worked it’s way to the youth hemisphere.
—Silvano Pontoniere