This is a personal topic that many situated to write about will not want to (including me) for a variety of valid reasons. But there is a lot of misinformation out there about the emergency contraception Plan B, which is in the news today because its sales have doubled since the FDA authorized its purchase without a prescription. I took Plan B. I writhed in misery. I got pregnant anyway. But go below the fold to see why this is relevant to today's debate.
On our seven year wedding anniversary, my husband and I broke a condom. First of all, at that time calling Plan B "the morning-after pill" was a misnomer because I tried to get it the next morning and spent two days on my quest to obtain it. It was a weekend. I had to track down my doctor. I had to go in for an appointment. Once I had the prescription, my usual pharmacy did not carry it. I had to go to a different pharmacy. I waited until my husband got home from work to take it because I was told it could cause severe cramping and I was taking care of my three-year-old and five-year-old boys.
When I did take the drug, I ended up with severe, incapacitating cramping. I ended up curled on our couch in tears and choking back Midol. So to debunk Myth #1, as for example, articulated in today's Washington Post:
Conservative members of Congress and advocacy groups . . . argued that the easier availability could encourage sexual activity.
There is no way that easier availablility of Plan B will encourage sexual activity. I was ready to forego sex completely after going through the miserable physical experience of Plan B. It is not fun. I don't think anyone in their right mind would rely on this as a regular form of birth control.
Afterwards, I said, "Nothing could have made it through that . . ." I had what appeard to be a light period a few days later.
Two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. This debnks Myth #2, again articulated in today's Washinjgton Post:
[Conservative members of Congress and advocacy groups] also maintain the pill can cause the equivalent of an abortion.
THAT IS FALSE. As my doctor explained, I must have already ovulated. By the time I took Plan B, the egg had probably been fertilized and was en route to implantation. Plan B will not undo this if it has already occurred. The single ingredient in Plan B, a synthetic progesterone called Levonorgestrel, actually seems to encourage implantation. All Plan B will do is interrupt ovulation.
This leads me to shatter loudly Myth #3--that a little delay will not make a difference. If it took me--a white, educated, middle-calss, 32-year-old (at that time), English-speaking married woman days to get Plan B, then we all know that quest is more complicated for single women, low-income wonen, women of color, immigrants, non-English speakers, and teenagers.
I hope that something can be taken from my experience. It does does not increase sexual activity. It is not an abortifacient. And time matters.