Couple of things
A: I just read the A.V. Club’s review of Wicker Man. This may be my favorite quote of the day, and it’s not even noon…
“But even the spectacle of [Nicolas] Cage running around the island punching women full in the face and screaming “Bitches!” isn’t as problematic as Wicker Man’s gigantic plot holes, interminable empty dialogue, cheap shocks, and uneven stabs at tension.”
B: While Starbucks employees in Chicago may be taking a stab at becoming Wobblies, corporate headquarters is putting quotes from Discovery Institute senior fellow Wesley Smith on their coffee cups. Discovery Institute is the main proponent of Intelligent Design. Read about it here.
C: There was a really stupid letter to the editor in the Tribune today from the head of Project Reality, the largest supplier of Abstinence-Only Education in Illinois. Guess who doesn’t like Plan B?
Instead of Plan B, opt for Plan A: abstinence
With the recent federal Food and Drug Administration decision to make emergency contraception, Plan B, available over the counter to women ages 18 and older, much discussion is to be expected about whether or not greater accessibility to this drug will increase promiscuity among young adults and whether a more cavalier attitude about sexual activity will occur, since the “evidence” of this activity can so easily be erased.
However, in the conversations that I’ve been a part of since this decision was made Aug. 24, the “A” word—abstinence—has been mysteriously missing as a viable option for prevention of unplanned pregnancy.
Sure, emergency contraception may, on the surface, assist men and women in wiping the slate clean after a sexual encounter.
But isn’t the word “emergency” a bit dramatic? An emergency, as defined in Webster’s dictionary, is “an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action” or “an urgent need for assistance or relief.”
In the case of unforced sexual activity, doesn’t the situation that calls for immediate action happen before sexual activity, not after? If a couple knows that they are not ready for a baby and willingly has sex anyway, this doesn’t seem to qualify as an “unforeseen circumstance.” The “urgent need” seems to be their desire to have sex without consequences, not to acquire a promised panacea for the results of their decided-upon behavior.
It is telling that Plan B is available over the counter for ages 18 and up, since women from ages 18 to 25 are the most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock.
Unfortunately, Plan B does nothing to help unmarried young people deal with the other “unforeseen circumstances” that can come with uncommitted sexual activity: emotional heartache, mistrust of the opposite sex in future relationships and marriage and the myriad sexually transmitted diseases that Plan B (and condoms) can’t provide complete protection from.
In addition, Plan B is readily available to teens under age 18 with a prescription. Plan A—abstinence—should be approved, prescribed and offered free of charge to each and every young person so that Plan B need never be an option. America’s young adults deserve better than Plan B. Since when do we offer second-best as a first option when it comes to the health and futures of our citizens?
Libby Macke
Director, Project Reality
Glenview
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… what? Oh right, this woman is an idiot. And yet, millions of tax dollars are given to her organization, which provides (if memory serves) at least 40% of all sex education in Illinois. I’d say her line on sex is already being offered for free to Illinois students. And I think Libby’s more in favor of Plan $$$ than Plan A with this letter.
These people tell kids that condoms don’t work, never show them how to use them, and then sit back on their laurels as kids who don’t know how to use condoms break them and get STIs or pregnant. Why doesn’t the government just remove seat belts from cars? Roads would be a lot safer if less people were driving, and if you decide to drive, it’s only right that you should die for the choice.
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