Are you protected from unwanted pregnancy?

Remember turning 18? For many of you it may not have been that long ago. The excitement of purchasing your first lottery ticket, knowing that you could vote-even if you didn’t-or registering for the civil service. Adulthood, hooray!

For the next generation of Americans, there could be one more reason to craft a paper chain and count down the days leading up to that landmark birthday: purchasing emergency contraception without a prescription. While this may not sound nearly as exciting as scratching that sparkly gray gunk off of your first lottery ticket, the FDA recently approved over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception (aka. “the morning after pill,” or Plan B) to individuals 18 or older. Whether you think this impacts you or not, awareness never hurts. First of all, EC is not a form of abortion, rather it can prevent ovulation or fertilization when taken in the days immediately following unprotected sex. It’s safe, responsible and increasingly accessible. Countless abortions and unintended pregnancies will be prevented by the FDA’s decision.

Surprisingly, emergency contraception is not new. It has been available by prescription for more than 30 years. That means your parents might have used it at some point. Sorry to put that image into your mind, but do you know the one thing scarier than the thought of your parents having sex? The fears that parents have about their children having sex. In Idaho, the only formal education most teens receive about sex is based on abstinence. While abstaining from sexual activity is undisputedly an effective way to prevent pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted infections, it is not the most realistic approach. Comprehensive sexual education in public schools is not only crucial for sexually active teens, it’s also important to know as an adult. Sexual preparedness is

important for all of us, even married couples. Sex is a part of life, and sexual education is a necessity.

If you are interested in learning more about the battle over comprehensive sexual education in public schools, check out a free event on campus this Friday, Sept. 8, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the SUB Hatch Ballroom. Special guest Shelby Knox will present the award-winning documentary “The Education of Shelby Knox” which chronicles her experiences battling her church, parents and school district over their abstinence-only sexual education policy. A panel of sex-ed experts will follow the film.

If you can’t make it to the event, at least give thought to your own sexual preparedness. Soon Plan B should be available over the counter, but what is your Plan A? Information about birth control, sexual health, and advocacy can be found at www.plannedparenthood.org/idaho, or for those who have forgotten that the internet is larger than Myspace, befriend Planned Parenthood at www.myspace.com/plannedparenthood. Your odds of an unintended pregnancy or contracting an STI are astronomically greater than winning the lottery or being drafted into the military. What have you done to protect yourself? What will you do to protect the next generation?

Jerilyn Grow is a public administration graduate student and Planned Parenthood advocate

JERIYLN GROW
Guest Opinion

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