OPINION & EDITORIAL
UHS, Planned Parenthood should rethink access to pill
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Sara Biersteker:
- Gun screening leaves dangerous loopholes (October 10, 2007)
- HPV vaccine begs question: 'Why not?' (October 1, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Plan ahead for Plan B (November 2, 2007)
- Costly Contraceptives (September 1, 2004)
- Readers demand R-E-S-P-E-C-T (November 2, 2007)
- Congress must fix birth control mix-up (February 5, 2008)
- Potential pitfalls abound for Plan B (November 29, 2006)
Share This:
by Sara Biersteker
Monday, October 29, 2007
Recently, a good friend of mine found herself in a difficult situation: It was a Saturday morning and she was in need of the morning-after pill known as Plan B. Unfortunately, after unsuccessfully contacting UHS and Planned Parenthood and listening to recorded messages explaining hours of operation, she realized her problem would have to wait until Monday when they would open again. The only other place the pill is available is at the Walgreens by the Capitol, which requires somewhat of a trek, $44.30 and a photo ID confirming that you are over 18. Sadly for my friend, that $44.30 simply did not fit into her budget. As college students, our classes consume the majority of our time, and we are notorious for not having money. This makes it increasingly difficult for young women on this campus to acquire the Plan B pill. On a campus where drinking seems to be an essential part of life, at least on the weekends, it would seem obvious that our student health center and Planned Parenthood should be happy to stay open to serve UW students in need of help. How many times would we have heard the story of a friend hooking up with someone they normally wouldn’t have, if alcohol had not been a factor? We all know that alcohol impairs our ability to make normal judgments and inhibitions are thrown to the wind. However, according to a study conducted by the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois, drinking can cause an increased desire for sexual contact as well. People become careless with contraception, but even if condoms are used, alcohol can decrease the amount of lubrication in women, leading to condom breakage. Oftentimes alcohol compromises memory, and the two partners don’t remember if contraception was used or not. Whatever the reason, accidents happen. The Plan B pill is a solution to these problems. However, the price and availability, at least in Madison, should cause UW students some concern. The Plan B pill is a form of emergency contraception that should not be used on a regular basis for birth control. It is intended as a last resort in a dire, time-sensitive situation. The pill should also not be confused with normal birth control pills, which are safe for regular use and protection from pregnancy. In the limited time span when UHS and Planned Parenthood are open, the pill is available over the counter for women over the age of 18. Yet, the price to prevent unwanted pregnancy is high. Through UHS, the pill will cost $31.42 plus tax while Planned Parenthood offers the pill anywhere from no charge to $40 based on annual income. Most college students don’t have $40 to spend on anything other than food. They also don’t have to time to wait at the Planned Parenthood clinic for the free pill because of their class schedule. One UW student said of her experience with Planned Parenthood, "I was waiting for 30 minutes, but then I had to leave for class. By the time I was done for the day, it was closed." College courses demand the majority of students’ time. There is no time to work schedules around the limited hours of these organizations, especially UHS, which supposedly caters directly to the student body. The pill should be taken three days after unprotected sex, as its 89 percent success rate only applies to this short-time period, and the pill loses effectiveness thereafter. Because of the time factor, it is shocking that organizations like Planned Parenthood and UHS are closed during the weekend, when unprotected sex is most common. Unwanted pregnancy in college is a definite emergency situation that can be prevented if this pill is made more available. Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. advertises Plan B for "when things don’t go as planned." But what are college students to do when a hastily conceived and possibly dangerous "plan C" is the only other option? We need as much help as we can get to protect ourselves in college. So please, give us the support we need. Sara Biersteker (biersteker@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in English.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 7:48am):
Oh please. I cannot even afford health insurance for myself. Why should I be asked to subsidize contraception for floozies?
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 8:16am):
"The Plan B pill is a solution to these problems."
Since when is killing a baby a "solution"? I don't agree with a single word you just wrote, what's the "solution" for that?
Maybe you and your friends shouldn't whore around on the weekend and you wouldn't have to worry about needing a Plan B. How about a little maturity and responsibility? Don't blame it on the alcohol; blame it on your inability to keep your pants on for anything with a functional dick.
Sheesh...
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 8:51am):
Here's a plan B for you and your friend: don't get so obliterated that you don't know what's going on. The word "responsibility" was surprisingly not found anywhere in your article.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 10:48am):
Actually, fetuses are closer to tumors than actual human beings until they're born.
I am glad my mother was pro-choice and gave birth to me at the right time in her life so that she could take care of me.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 11:15am):
Sara, I think you and your friends should maybe rethink your lifestyle choices a little bit. Just because you're in college (where drinking is "essential"?) does not mean you need to blackout every weekend and wake up in a daze wondering if you remembered to use a condom or not. At the very least, talk to your doctor about hormonal birth control, an IUD, nuvaring, etc.
It's sad...articles like this are just fuel for the extreme Right in their mission to outlaw contraception. What is a rape victim supposed to do when Plan B is no longer available because those in power decided it was just an easy out for irresponsible behavior such as what you described?
Oh, and what about Plan A...living with the choices you made and whatever the outcome may be. And YES, you do make a choice to get drunk and have unprotected sex.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 11:49am):
Plan B PREVENTS abortions (and babies) - it prevents ovulation. If the woman has already ovulated, plan B does not help at all.
I think Community Pharmacy stocks Plan B.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 12:01pm):
The lack of priorities blows my mind. Yes, classes are important, but if you wait for the pill, you miss one class, maybe three. If you have an unplanned pregnancy? You miss completing your education all together.
Same with the money -- you can borrow money from two or four friends now, or you can try to scrape together wll more than $44 for shoes, preschool, diapers...
You're in college, You're sharp enough to think this all the way through.
Priorities? (October 29, 2007 @ 12:29pm):
The lack of priorities blows my mind. Yes, classes are important, but if you wait for the pill, you miss one class, maybe three. If you have an unplanned pregnancy? You miss completing your education all together.
Same with the money -- you can borrow money from two or four friends now, or you can try to scrape together well more than $44 for shoes, preschool, diapers...
You're in college, You're sharp enough to think this all the way through.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 1:18pm):
@ 8:16am
Plan B is a form of emergency contraception, which means it prevents fertilization. It is no more like "killing a baby" than using a condom to begin with. Even my stridently pro-life Catholic friend has sought this sort of contraception before, because regardless of her positions pertaining to abortion, she knows they have nothing to do with this debate.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 1:25pm):
"Most college students don't have $40 to spend on anything other than food."
Except apparently alcohol. You know, you could set aside $44.30 from the amount you spend on alcohol and save it instead for Plan B. Of course, drinking so much less would greatly decrease the likelyhood of you needing Plan B (as well as any of the other untoward effects of unprotected sex with strangers).
"Unwanted pregnancy in college is a definite emergency situation that can be prevented if this pill is made more available."
Do you know what else prevents unwanted pregnancy? Keeping sober enough to use contraception, for one. Using the birth control pill or other pre-intercourse contraceptives is another instead of relying on a clear head in the heat of the moment. Not having sex with random guys at parties also helps. There's a number of opportunities to prevent pregnancy before it has a chance to begin. Realizing that your actions have consequences is one place to start.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 2:26pm):
Which is more expensive, $45 and a walk to the store or an abortion or paying for a child?
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 2:45pm):
"the pill is available is at the Walgreens by the Capitol, which requires somewhat of a trek," Your friend and you are disgustingly lazy for using this wording.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 2:46pm):
If she is so stretched for time, why wasn't she too busy to have premarital sex? Bracketing off the question of whether abortion is morally permissible, this article reads like a convoluted whine -- it is interesting that people DEMAND health services... why should other people be forced against their will to accommodate your demand? grow up.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 3:19pm):
hmmm...maybe your friend should think about how she came to need the morning after pill in the first place.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 3:36pm):
Plan B prevents implantation of a fertilized egg, among other things. Therefore, it is a form of abortion.
This column demonstrates that to young people, it's ALL ABOUT THEM. Get drunk, have sex, murder your baby, it's all the same to them.
Oh, and Anonymous @ 1:18pm, your "stridently pro-life Catholic friend" uses contraception? That's a sin also, especially if there is sex outside of marriage involved.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 4:43pm):
When I was in my Frosh week I along with all the other female frosh were gathered together to discuss protecting ourselves from rape and other forms of sexual abuse.
While the organizers did not spend a lot of time on the topic of 'date' rape (preferring to scare us over the fairly small chance of stranger rape) the one thing they did point out was that staying sober and avoiding those who were drunk greatly cut down on the chances of an unwanted sexual experience. There was actually a fairly concerted attempt to crack down on the drinking during frosh events (about half the frosh were of legal age to drink as this was in Ontario,Canada) specifically becouse of this problem.
In other words this known problem of having sex you wouldn't otherwise have as a result of being drunk was treated as a reason to encourage everyone to cut down and to warn women in particular of this danger of excessive drinking (and also to encourage buddying up by women going out for a drink).
Which seems to me to be a much better area to work on then the hours of the organization offering freebees particularly given the other possible consequences of drunken 'unprotected' sex (disease, the physiological effects of unwanted/unplanned for/forced sex). Avoidance is generally better then treatment.
(The other thing that occured to me is to wonder how much these proverty stricken students are spending on drink?)
Erik (October 29, 2007 @ 4:46pm):
Or you could just not have drunk unprotected sex.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 5:57pm):
Hmmm, let me make sure I understand this ... college students have plenty of money to spend buying alcohol, and this leaves them too broke to pay for contraception. So the rest of us should pay for their contraceptives. O-Kay.
A generation of narcissists and their impeccable logic.
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 6:00pm):
Anon @ 3:36 - There is no proof that Plan B (or any other hormonal BCP) affects implantation. I doubt that this will sway your thinking, but here's one article for back-up, for those who are interested (many others are, of course, google-able).
http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-post-fertilization-effect-br-fact-or-fiction/98d672e50d803110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/health/healthy.living.centers/ob.gyn.health/
Anonymous (October 29, 2007 @ 9:37pm):
The author writes: "But what are college students to do when a hastily conceived and possibly dangerous "plan C" is the only other option?"
Hastily conceived? Indeed. And who said irony was dead?
Anonymous (October 30, 2007 @ 8:36am):
I agree with the comments above; STOP drinking yourselves into oblivion, STOP whining about not having enough money, STOP wanting other people to subsidize your drunken, promiscuous behavior, and, mostly, STOP treating yourselves like trash.
It's so sad, because your behavior shows that you have barely a shred of self-respect. Apparently no one ever taught you and your friends how to truly love yourselves. Believe me, it has nothing to do with cheap sex and drunken binges.
Think how much happier (meaning, less stressed the morning after, less prone to STD's, less throwing up) you'd be if you changed your lifestyle just a tad. Just consider it, OK? I'll be praying for you all. And I hope your friend is OK.
And THAT is the kind of support that you and your friends really need to protect yourselves in college.
Anonymous (October 30, 2007 @ 11:57am):
It's kind of pathetic to see all the people on the sight accusing college women of "whoring" or "promiscuity." These kind of accusations always come from folks who aren't getting any, and take their frustration out on those who are. People have sex. Grow up and deal with it.
Anonymous (October 30, 2007 @ 12:06pm):
The author writes, "How many times would we have heard the story of a friend hooking up with someone they normally wouldn't have, if alcohol had not been a factor? We all know that alcohol impairs our ability to make normal judgments and inhibitions are thrown to the wind." Okay, so you know what alcohol does to you, so why do you complain about not having emergency contraception when its your own fault for having unprotected sex in the first place? I don't drink, I don't have sex, and as a result I don't have any major problems in my life. I save money, I'm responsible, and I still have a ton fun in life without getting wasted. I love to be able to remember what happens in my life. Take responsiblity for yourself and don't depend on others to take care of you.
Anonymous (October 30, 2007 @ 11:40pm):
Wait a minute... are you seriously telling me that a difference of $12.92 (difference between Walgreens and UHS prices) or as little as $8 (difference between Walgreens and Planned Parenthood prices) are enough of a budgetary issue to raise this sort of hue and cry over? Save yourself the three drinks' worth of money, and you might not even need the pills!
I find it discouraging that you seem to expect Planned Parenthood and UHS to effectively "cover" for irresponsible and destructive behavior. Unfortunately, I would not be surprised if both institutions took you up on your challenge, always happy to earn more money. Perhaps this particular relationship - companies making a profit off of irresponsibility and degeneracy (things you yourself call "problems") - should prompt you, and your fellow young people (all idealists, as I myself remember all too well), to give some serious thought to what you are espousing.
Anonymous (November 3, 2007 @ 9:06pm):
This is what our culture has become: the life that your friends carry within themselves is regarded as a tumour, a piece of flesh. What a devaluation of the sanctity of life.
You destroy the most helpless, most innocent, most vulnerable of all human beings: that of the child in the womb, which may i remind all you readers here, is something that all of you were, not too long ago?
The pinnacle of heinous selfishness: college students getting drunk, having sex and then laying off all responsiblity for the child conceived. And then going back to class after having killed their children.
Grow up, people.
Anonymous (February 12, 2008 @ 9:33am):
It is a tragedy that a child must die so that you may live as you please. (Mother Theresa)
Anonymous (November 17, 2008 @ 1:52pm):
It is a shame that people have to write this crap on here. Goodness is that the way to try and help someone.
It is a fact of life that teens and young adults do take risks. I am 39 and accidents still happen. It isnt just these pills that students cant get after hours its also medical care. My son is in his second year and he had the flu... the actual flu and needed help. He could only muster up the strength to head to the clinic around 4:30 and it was closed. His girlfriend had the same problem but was more serious. She had staph infection that was going around hot and heavy for a while in colleges this last year. She was running a fever and out of her mind and could hardly walk. She was on a campus where the nearest hospital was a good distance away so she took the chance and waited till morning. So what I see as a problem is that students need a clinic that stays open later for their needs.
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
