People who want to make Birth Control pills, EC's, and abortions illegal are assholes.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

Today, a friend of mine came up to me with some pretty shitty news. She banged one of her friends, not once, but twice without a condom on Saturday.

So, today we decide to take a trip to the local Planned Parenthood so that she could get Plan B as a precaution.

Now first, she would be the first to admit she made a mistake. Right now, all she wants is to make sure she won't end up pregnant at 16, and have that one mistake fuck up her life.

We went there since we read that it's now available OTC. We figured that we would go in, she'd give them the $35, and we would be on our merry ways and she could be a little less worried while she waits for her next period to make sure everything checks out.

But here's the catch: You can't get it OTC (at least according to the clerk) if you're under 18 unless you have a family member over 18 there with you. Now, who do you think the last people she wants to talk to about her screwing some dude she routinely hangs out with, are? You fucking guessed it. Perhaps she should talk to them, and it may come to that, but do you really think a 16 year old should have to go through that? It's bad enough they fucked up and could end up pregnant. Do they really have to make it that much harder to fix a mistake?

But despite this hassle, that's not even the REAL issue. We're waiting to call them up, and hopefully get something arranged so that she can get them tomorrow, and if not, we'll figure something out. The real issue is that there are people out there who want to make it IMPOSSIBLE for my friend to get these pills. There are people who want to make it so that my friend has to deal with the repercussions of ONE (well really two; the guy who slept with her is a moron and a jackass and it probably wasn't the best idea to invite him over when she knew he would want sex and wouldn't have BC, but that's not really her fault. There are just stupid pricks out there) mistake for the rest of her life. A baby can be an amazing thing, but when you're 16, there aren't many ready for that.

There are people out there who have no empathy for their fellow man and what they go through, and how hard things can be. They prefer to sit on their high horse. And that's fucked up.

[Ian David]

1. There are ways around that, but when it comes to Plan B, hours and minutes make a difference.

Call Planned Parenthood and get a referral somewhere.

Beware of google-spammers and others posing as "family planning" clinics when they're actually fronts for anti-abortion fundies.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Oh, man. That's a tough situation. Hope it can all get worked out ok. Still, if it was me, I woulda

been more worried about the disease aspect than the baby. Is she going to follow up on that as well? :hug:

[NMMNG]

3. That's the RRRW. They aren't Pro-life. They're Pro-birth.

They want to assume complete control over womens' reproductive systems by wiping out birth control as well as abortion. We'll be back to the days when women had only one option to avoid pregnancy: abstinence. But of course to them any married woman is supposed to be a baby making machine because the only purpose of marriage is procreation. That's why same-sex marriage cannot be made legal, you know.


My new motto: If you're Anti-choice can I forcibly sterilize you?

[Lint Head]

4. They are not Anti- Abortionists. They are Pro-Death

I have yet to meet an anti-abortion person that is either against the death penalty or against the killing of innocent women, children and elderly people in Iraq or any war. I'm sure their are some somewhere. I haven't met or had a conversation with one.
:dem:

[NMMNG]

7. They only care about fetuses

Once the fetus is expelled from the womb it's on its own. Don't ask them to provide health care, food, after-school programs, housing or anything else to assist that child. Maybe if we extended the "fetal period" to age 25 they'd care about everyone. ;-)

[Richard Steele]

11. No. The "birth" issue is just an aspect of their mental disease.

They are Pro-CONTROL.

They are filled with fear and loathing at the notion
that people hold opinions DIFFERENT than theirs, and they
are filled with RESENTMENT when such people have things they don't.
Things like happiness, success, fun- all that jazz.

If they weren't craven, fascist-kissing COWARDS, they might
take a chance on pissing off a few folks and find their own joy.

But they are COWARDS who suck up to bullies, so they try have it both ways-
They combine their innermost secret desires with their habit of
knuckling under to bullies, and the result is a dark & twisted
desire to establish a society where EVERYONE is under the thumbs
of the "alpha-bullies" they have spent their lives sucking up to.

They imagine that when that day comes, they will be elevated;
rewarded for being loyal lapdogs. And then they will have the
authority of their MASTERS to do whatever they want to everyone
they have ever resented.

To publicly do things to strangers that they currently can only
do secretly to their families and stray animals: THAT is what they
dream of.

Don't ever imagine for a SECOND that these people will be content
with making abortion illegal, or removing some group's right to vote.
That's the nature of their disease: it's never content with ANYTHING.

Every scrap of CONTROL it gets just increases the craving for MORE.

[NMMNG]

12. That too

Ultimately they want to control everything, but women's wombs are a big part of it.

[sailor65]

5. Nice spin

This story's not about a woman being denied her right to Plan B, it's about a MINOR being handled like a MINOR.

As long as the parents of minors are totally responsible for said minors, then these laws are necessary and appropriate.

If this friend were a woman and not a child, my opinion of the story might be different, but but no matter how it's spun, it's still a story about someone trying to illegally circumvent the parents of a minor.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

6. You're right; to some degree it is.

But you missed the point I was trying to make. While this is a shitty situation for her, esp. as a minor, there is an even bigger issue at hand- that there are fuckers out there who want to make it against the law for ANY woman, minor or not, to receive this medication.

While this may indeed be routine, and perhaps even necessary when dealing with minors, it was merely a build up to the fact that there ARE women out there who want this drug who will be denied it if it is up to the RW. There are stories about adults who are denied these things already. While there are many places where women can receive these things with little to no hassle, when it is difficult for people to exercise their right to control their bodies in even one place, then we are on a slippery slope.

This may not be a great example, and maybe even not an appropriate one, but any reminders that there are some fuckers out there looking to screw you over are good things to help us remember what we stand for, and more importantly, why we stand for it.

ON EDIT- While this is slightly off our particular discussion, I think that the age for birth control possession should be equal to or less than the age of consent.

[Ilsa]

8. It's a shame there isn't someone who can "stand in for her" to

get the medication. If I had a 16 year old daughter who tried to be responsible after the fact, then I'd be thrilled. I'd rather have her work the system and get chewed out by the clinic nurse for not wearing protection than have her get pregnant.

Let's hope it is the wrong time of the month for her to be fertile. You're a good person for helping her out. And I agree with you on what the anti-birth control people are up to.

[Liz7]

9. I completely agree with your point, but

I have to take issue with this: "it probably wasn't the best idea to invite him over when she knew he would want sex and wouldn't have BC, but that's not really her fault."

What does "That's not really her fault" refer to? Maybe it's not exactly what you meant to say, but it seems to absolve her of responsibility. She chose to have sex without BC, unless it wasn't consensual. Regardless, I hope she can figure out how to get Plan B in time.

(Like your signature, by the way.)

[muntrv]

10. If the reich wingers ban birth control pills, the mafia will have a new racket.