According to this WaPo article, there have already been more than sixty bills filed in state legislatures this year in regards to emergency contraception.
Access to emergency contractptive pills [ECPs] is a good thing. To claim that it's some kind of Lefty form of everyday contraceptive is a fucking joke. Who in their right minds would take ECPs as a normal form of contraception?Many of the state bills intended to expand access give specially trained pharmacists in states including Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois the right to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription. Other bills require pharmacies to stock and distribute the drug, and to ensure that the pill is made available to women who come into emergency rooms after a sexual assault.
But some bills would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception, which is effective for only 72 hours after a woman experiences a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed, and more than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right not to stock the drug and pharmacists the right not to dispense it, even to women with valid prescriptions.
And then there's an interesting article from Nerve.com [I used to work there] via AlterNet on access to birth control in general and Planned Parenthood. The writer of the piece describes the troubles of several young adults who have had problems in obtaining birth control from Planned Parenthood as a result of high cost.
I've used an ECP once and it's no trivial thing to go through, although certainly alot easier on the body than either pregnancy or abortion. It amazes me how narrow-minded the right is on abortion, but then will also clamp down on any non-abstinence form of pregnancy prevention (sex education, contraceptives, and ECPs).
Posted by: Ellen | February 27, 2006 at 06:37 PM