The Morning After Pill and Unintended Pregnancies
The cases of unintended pregnancies continue to stir controversies as women are faced with the dilemma of ending or keeping these pregnancies. There are several reasons why a pregnancy can be unwanted to a woman such as a case of failed contraception, unplanned unprotected sex, being raped, or being assaulted among others. The morning after pills are contraceptives that can be used to prevent the unintended pregnancies. The use of morning after pill has been subject to many controversies, for instance, ethical dilemmas that are associated with the pill, the ideal age group to be allowed to use the pill, and its side effects among others. This paper will highlight if the morning after pills should only be sold to people aging 21 years old and above.
The Ideal Age for Using the Morning After Pill
Even though the morning after pill has been in the market for a very long time, the question of the age of women that should use remain a key concern. This pill should only be sold to the women who are 21 years old and above as it works nearly the same as the birth control pills but it is more powerful. This pill is only meant to be used during emergencies like circumstances whereby the birth control pills fail to work. Women above 21 years old are more likely to be married or be in stable relationships thus, they have higher chances of using the various family planning methods. At times, the contraceptives may fail and at this point, they can use the emergency pills. If sold to women below the age of twenty one who may not be using any other form of contraception, they are bound to overuse these pills, yet they are not meant for everyday use. Even though the birth control pills and the morning after pills serve the same purpose, they are not similar and the morning after pills should not be a substitute of the birth control pills which are actually prescribed by a doctor. This is mainly because the dosage of the morning after pills is far much higher than that of the birth control pills. In 2013, the FDA approved the selling of Plan B which is a type of emergency contraception to anyone above 15 years old. This approval was a huge mistake as it gives even fifteen year old children room to experiment sex as they are able to prevent pregnancy.
The Dangers of Selling the Morning After Pills to Younger Women
Riga in his article Plan B Morning after Pill, argues that the decision that was made by the federal judge that the morning after pill should be made accessible over the counter to women above the age of 15 years is unjust. He further argues that there have been long term studies proving that the hormonal drugs are dangerous to the developing bodies of young girls. Their long term effects ought to be considered besides the fears of teen pregnancy, abortion, or children born out of wedlock (Riga 1).
The Impact of Age Restrictions on Promiscuity and Communication
Restricting the sale of the morning after pills to women over twenty one years old reduce promiscuity. Making the pills accessible to younger women would make them engage in promiscuous sex without the fear of pregnancy. In addition, the visits to doctors will be less, reducing the chances of early detection of sexually transmitted infections. The women above 21 years old are mature enough to detect the signs of sexually transmitted diseases and seek medical attention.
It is argued that the birth control pills are usually not the best contraception, and the other long acting ones such as implants and hormonal injections are more reliable (Smith 1). These contraceptives require visits to the doctor which can give room for proper advice on the best contraceptive to use and screening for sexually transmitted infections. Giving young women access to the morning after pills would deny them the chance to know the best contraceptives to use. In addition, selling these morning after pills to teenagers reduces communication between the teenagers and their parents, and even teenagers and doctors about the results of sexual behavior. This leaves the teenagers to learn through experience which may be dangerous. Making the drugs accessible to younger women has increased the rate of engagement in casual sex which they would have otherwise not engaged in (Smith 1). Providing the morning after pill to the adolescents under the age of sixteen normalizes and also encourages sexual relationships below the consent age. Most often, these relationships are very unhealthy and not wise.
Conclusion: Stricter Controls for the Morning After Pills
With all the dangers associated with the use of the morning after pills, they should strictly be sold only to women of 21 years old and above. There should be more stringent controls of how these powerful drugs are distributed. The long term health implications of these drugs on very young girls, danger of the young ladies not detecting sexually transmitted infections, and the fact that their use encourages promiscuity are clear reasons why the morning after pills should only be sold to women who are twenty one years old and above.
Works Cited
Riga, P., J. Plan B Morning after Pill. The Linacre Quarterly 81.2 (2014): 101–102. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4028731/ 24 January 2018.
Smith, s. Now Girls Can Buy the Morning after Pill Even if they're Under 16: Drug will be Available in Pharmacies to Those Below Age of Consent. Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3125623/Now-girls-buy-morning-pill-16-Drug-available-pharmacies-age-consent.html#ixzz5599LijBv 24th January 2018.
