Does anyone else see the irony of this statement? By removing the age restriction (lessening their control of the issue and following the guidelines originally recommended by the FDA) for the over the counter purchase of Plan B the government is somehow exerting MORE control over parental rights. I especially love how the focus of the argument is not about the health and rights of the minors involved.
The parents are not afraid of the government, they are afraid of their children. If they weren't they wouldn't care what was on the drug store shelf. The real issue is that they are NOT in control of a teenager and that is terrifying. Evolution never intended them to be. Teenage years are a test of the strength of the family and of the tools taught to a child for making good decisions. And when you rely on simplistic moral reasoning, handling complex situations is made all the harder. You cannot raise a child to only be on the receiving end of the moral discussion in your house. You are the one failing in that situation.
As a species, we are designed to learn through failure just as much as through success. Sometimes it is the failure of others, but just as often they are our own mistakes. Fire and brimstone are not the right tools to use here. Compassion is. And also calming the fuck down. And maybe, just maybe, if parents spent less time feeling superior because of how they spend their Sunday morning, and feeling right by harping on everyone else's wrongs, then their teens would not feel afraid of their parents' judgement when they do make mistakes. If they felt comfortable discussing their mistakes and concerns with a parent then they would be asking for help in the first place and not riding their bikes to the corner store.
Plan B is unnecessary when Plan A is working.
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