the Informer

The Food and Drug Administration just changed the minimum age to get the "morning-after pill" without a prescription to 17 years old. It was previously 18, which is the age where adolescents legally become adults. I think lowering the age to 17 is not acceptable. Technically at that age you are still under your parents' jurisdiction. In the eyes of the law a 17-year-old is still a child. Lowering the age for Plan B without a prescription takes away the parent's knowledge of a possible pregnancy. At that age if you think you are pregnant, I think your parents should know about it.

But also, what is this saying about us as a society? Making these drugs available for younger and younger children is dangerous. These days, kids are having major life experiences and maturing in some ways at younger ages. But I don't think the emotional maturity has developed enough yet for a young adult to make those kinds of decisions. If an adolescent is still in the care of their parents, I think that the parents should still have authority over that young adult.

The pill should be used within 72 hours of having unprotected sex to lower the risk of pregnancy by 90 percent. I think it is a very useful pill and it gives women a three-day window in which to use it in. It is a revolutionary invention to prevent unwanted pregnancies from accidental nights. So I don't think it would be that difficult for 17-year-old girls to get a prescription to obtain the drug. Why 17? Now that the FDA has changed the regulation to a lower age, what is to stop them from lowering it further?

I cannot speak for all women, but most are not ready to have a child at 17. They should be taking precautions to prevent that from happening. I don't think that Plan B should be made so easily available for minors without parents knowing about it.

But then you have to wonder how much is Plan B used and if it is being overused by the population as a whole. Will girls now not care as much about protection when they know there is a safety net for them without their parents ever finding out? It seems like the pill is being taken for granted and now the FDA has opened up the avenue to more girls. I wonder if this will change the safety precautions they take?

With all the other restrictions that are placed on minors and even 18-year-olds, that you would think the FDA would not lower the age to get the pill without a prescription. But maybe this just shows how much sex has become a part of our society and at much younger ages.,Melissa O'Brien