Now that scientists around the world have developed new forms of birth control and emergency contraception, when will we get to use them? Not soon enough, I say.
Advances in contraceptive technologies hardly matter if you can't get your hands on them. Cara Gardner reports that "there are more than 100 experimental contraceptive methods being studied around the world," including the Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance, or RISUG, injection for men (which has been developed and tested over the past 25 years in India).
How many of these methods will prove safe and effective -- and profitable -- remains to be seen. And unless a particular contraceptive meets all three criteria, you probably won't see it in America, no matter how badly we need it.
Not that I'm cynical or anything.
Two contraceptive controversies have caught my attention this year. One is the Food and Drug Administration's rejection last May of Barr Pharmaceuticals' request to offer its emergency contraceptive pill, called Plan B, without a prescription. The FDA stated concerns about the pill's effect on girls younger than 16 years.
Now the drug company has filed a second application in hopes of making Plan B available over the counter to anyone 16 or older. (Children younger than 16 will still need permission from a doctor.)
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that hundreds of teenage girls in the United Kingdom had been fitted with a contraceptive implant without their parents' knowledge. The implant remains effective for three years and eliminates the need for a teenager to remember to take her pills -- or to hide them from her parents.
As you can imagine, these stories have had a galvanizing effect on groups that work with or worry about pregnant teens. Supporters believe the implants and Plan B will help reduce the number of unplanned teenage pregnancies. Opponents worry that granting teenagers access to birth control is tantamount to granting permission to be promiscuous, resulting in higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases, emotional distress and even sin. Still others see emergency contraception as nothing more than abortion.
The fact is, American and European children are reaching puberty at astonishingly young ages now -- some girls even begin menstruating before age 9. Their bodies are awash in hormones long before they achieve the emotional maturity to handle sexual relationships. (Sometimes I wonder if we ever achieve the emotional maturity to handle sexual relationships.)
Perhaps these public controversies will result in more girls making informed decisions about sex. Some may decide it's not worth it, and wait until they're older. (Did you?) Others might start protecting themselves now that they can use inconspicuous birth control.
In fact, it looks like they already are. The rate of teen pregnancies in the United States, while still too high, has been declining. As adolescents become educated about the consequences of unprotected sex (both pregnancy and disease), they are more likely to make smarter decisions before they end up in the heat of the moment, turning off their brains as they turn on their bodies.
As we enter the sexual revolution 2.0 -- a paradigm shift in our sexual attitudes and actions, with technology as its catalyst -- advances in contraception methods are sorely needed. I've been on birth control pills for 16 years, and frankly I'm concerned about the long-term ramifications of my daily dose. Yet I'm not willing to trust my womb to the 15 percent failure rate of condoms; should a condom break, at least I don't have to worry about pregnancy. (And I know at least one other person who is as thankful about that as I am.)
In our debates, perhaps we're forgetting that the vast majority of women (and men!) who will benefit from advanced contraceptive technology -- both pre- and post-coital -- are well out of their teens.
I'm glad to hear that the House of Representatives sees the need to make emergency contraception available over the counter. My instincts tell me that most uh-ohs requiring Plan B do not happen during normal business hours, even if you have a doctor who can take same-day appointments.
And I hope that when the FDA approves nonprescription emergency contraception, pharmacies everywhere will have to carry it and trust women to decide when and whether they need it.
Believe me, Plan B is not something most women are going to treat casually, returning again and again as a regular habit (as some doctors fear). A pregnancy scare is downright terrifying, and I've seen more than one woman suffer the side effects of the morning-after pill. Neither is an experience anyone wants to repeat.
As for the teenagers, I'll say one thing: It takes guts to go to the doctor or ask the pharmacist for contraceptives. Anything we can do to encourage such responsibility in sexually active teenagers is a good thing.
Now, who's up for a trip to India?
See you next Friday,
Regina Lynn
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Regina Lynn tries to answer all of her e-mail, even if it takes her a few days to get to yours. Contact her at [email protected] or visit her website to join the Sex Drive forum.
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