‘Plan A’ would make ‘Plan B’ unnecessary

    What are your thoughts on a federal judge’s decision in New York to allow the over-the-counter sale of the Plan B “morning after” pill to children of any age?
    In many ways, I was shocked and surprised, but I guess when I think about it, I should not have been shocked and surprised given what some of the courts are doing now and some of the values that are being promoted in the United States. Right after I heard about it, I posted on my Facebook page this message:
    “How young? Too young? The courts will decide … The federal court decided that minors can buy Plan B, the “morning after” pill, without parental consent. 2 life issues: 1. Plan B is abortive. 2. So any kid can have sex any time and prevent the birth of a child by a pill… So, we promote young people having carefree sex! So what’s Plan A? Why are morality and responsibility not acceptable? Lord, help us know your plan for us and be responsible in our actions. Help us promote life.”
    I received many “likes” to my Facebook post along with several comments. It was interesting that most of the comments had to do with my statement that “Plan B is abortive.” There was discussion and an educated argument about whether or not that pill can cause abortions. I’m not a doctor and I don’t have a degree in science, but through the years I’ve been told that the drug levonorgestrel, which uses large doses of birth-control pills to prevent conception or implantation up to 72 hours after sex, can be abortive.
    What I found very interesting is that no one commented on Plan A. I suggest that if Plan A is followed – which means being responsible in our sexuality and being moral people – then we don’t need Plan B. We are encouraging young people to have carefree sex without any responsibility or consequences. This ruling promotes promiscuity and irresponsible sexual behavior, and it will lead to higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases. We as a society should be concerned about that, and certainly as a church we are very concerned.
    In a school setting, you can’t give a child an aspirin without his or her parents knowing about it. But now you can sell the Plan B drug to a child of any age, no questions asked? Are parents completely disregarded?
    It does undermine parental authority and parental care for their children. If a child is in school, we can’t give them an aspirin without parental supervision. If kids want to have their ears pierced, they have to have parental approval. In many states, an under-age child needs parental approval to use a tanning bed. Now a young girl can go into a drugstore, no matter what age, and buy a powerful pill that will take care of what she did the night before.
    What happens from here?
    I would assume the decision will be appealed. What I find interesting is that the general populace doesn’t seem very excited or concerned about this. I guess that’s a disappointment to me. Maybe we’ve gotten so used to the government telling us how to live moral lives that we don’t make an issue of this, which is pretty tragic. Perhaps we’ve gotten so used to carefree sex and promiscuity that we don’t blink anymore. A society is only as strong as are the family and personal morality. If those two things are weak, the society is going to be weak. It begs the question, where are we headed as a society and as a family structure?
    Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].