Plan B

Everyday there's advertisements on tv. Regular day to day things like cereals, Target commercials, and every other restaurant in town. But once in awhile there's a few that come on that seriously bother me. Recently I've seen the commercial for the PLAN B pill aired.

Plan B's website: http://www.planbonestep.com/
*only sold to 17 or older over the counter
*Only effective when taken within 72 hours (3 days) of sex
*Mild side-effects similar to a period

I understand that there are accidental pregnancies in our country all the time. I know quite a few people that are "oops" babies (but they were all from marriages, not one night stands). Also this week I'm writing an essay for my History class on 1970's womens' rights movement. How convenient.

In the 1960s and 1070s the idea of letting women use birth control was "insane"! It was ridiculous! Why should a women turn down a pregnancy? Its Gods purpose for women to give us children, preventing that role from occurring whenever it...occurs, would be offensive. This is what the older generation thought, but the young women saw it as liberating. A way to choose when a child should or shouldn't come into their life. It gave way for many women to have more time to dedicate to an extended education or a career. Sure this was great, but it was still seen as provocative. The traditional position of the woman was in the kitchen, in the home. As some say it, "get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!"

But this commercial that plays multiple times a day is something entirely different, or is it? It similar in how it gives women who have made an "oops", a way out. It also states in the ad, "this is not a form of birth control". Unfortunately there are people out there that use abortions as their form of birth control. It's sad but it happens....this often leaves them with infertility problems in the future when they wish to have children. Perhaps women will see that as a reason to not get multiple abortions and just be responsible for the sex that they have. PLAN B is simply a safety net for those who need it. I hope that if somebody is out there having sex that they are responsible enough to protect themselves from anything unwanted or unexpected.

This brings up something that I firmly believe: If you're not smart enough to get on birth control and use condoms, then you shouldn't be having sex with anyone. You could subject your partner to an unplanned child or venereal disease. A friend remarked via Twitter yesterday, "A diamond is forever, so is herpes". You gotta be responsible for yourself!

PLAN B will probably prevent alot of accidental pregnancies, but that doesn't mean go crazy. Women of the 60's and 70's saw the pill as a way to push back having kids so they could have a fuller and more complete life outside of being a mother. There's plenty more to life than just staying at home and raising your kids (though I do aspire to be a stay-at-home mom someday, I want my degree first). The women of the past saw this as empowering, it was their way to live for their own self-development.

What do you think of all the new PLAN B advertisements? Its been around for awhile but they're just now advertising it. Would you use it? Or will you just stick to using regular birth control and condoms?