Thread: Morning after pills for 17 year old girls

The FDA announced that the controversial morning after pills must be available for 17 year old girls without a prescription, and presumably without parental consent. The FDA also "ordered" a review of all clinical data to determine if all age restrictions should be lifted.

I vote wrong decision.

Now that it becomes law, at what age will your daughter be when you discuss the pill's availability with her?

RalphS

Well, I've got some time (daughter is one).
I hope (HOPE!) to have her at least well informed of the decisions she will (some day) be faced with. While I pray that I will have instilled in her enough self respect and maturity that she will protect herself, and not need the morning after pill, I recognize that this is not always the case, and even "good girls" find themselves in certain situations.
If, however, she is ever in the position to need it, at 17 years old, I would like her to be able to make that decision without having to go through me or anyone else.

talk to me in 15 years, and we'll see how my answer changes.

Why would this be a bad decision?

I agree that the morning after pill is onyl an issue when it is too late. Using condoms at that age would be much better, and by that age they should have gotten a proper sex-ed talk with their parents.

This law won't change that. You can't stick your head in the sand and pretend that kids at that age are not going to have sex. they will. the only thing you have under your control is the amount of information and responsibility you can give them beforehand. If that is covered, then the chances of them needing a morning after pill are very, very slim.

So if they really should need it, it is not a bad idea imo that they can get it instead, of keeping their mouth shut and hoping that nothing will come from it.
I hope that my daughters will always feel comfortable enough to talk with my wife about things like this (I understand that dads are not the first choice here ) but at age I don't feel that she should need my approval for a getting this pill.

EDIT: Also before people get all upset: No, this will not mean that hundreds of innocent 17 year old girls will suddenly engage in orgies, which would otherwise never have entered their minds if they hadn't heard of this law.

To answer ralph:

Now that it becomes law, at what age will your daughter be when you discuss the pill's availability with her?

We will have this discussion with my daughters way before then. You don't want to wait with talking with your kids until YOU think it is allowed for them to have sex.

You (well at least we) have this talk waaay before then, so that by the time they are in a situation where they have to make a choice, they have correct information, and have been able to think about it before hand. Imo that is much better than when the find themselves in the back seat of a car without a clue, but with the 'certainty' that you can't get pregnant the first time.

O man this scares me...

I am only 25 and my wife and I have not had children yet but it seems like kids are growing up faster and the same talks I was given must be done earlier now.

I am not condoning sex of teens...there is no reason they cant wait ... but maybe this isnt a bad idea to have these pills available...

i mean that would be alot better than having babies with mothers that cant support them ...

my wife works at a day care and there are alot of single mothers their that are very very young that bring in kids to be watched. Taking a pill the day after .... in my mind...is not the same as waiting until a month later and deciding you dont want the baby...because now it becomes a life decisions where as just popping a pill the next morning isnt really that consciencious of a decision.

And for a little shot...why cant men use condoms...and I dont care what age you are...if you are going to have sex and its not for reasons of having a child with your wife...us a condom...if you are "man" enough to have sex be "man" enough to be responsible....

Personally, I don't think 17 is too young. I started having sex when I was 17, and she was 17 too. We had a mature relationship, and we loved each other (I know it was real love because I still think about her now and then and it's five years later). She and I were both well educated about safe sex, and we put that knowledge into practice. But, should something have gone wrong, it would be nice to know that something like the morning after pill was available.

But, by the same token, part of what made our relationship mature and responsible is that we weren't hiding what we were doing from our parents. I mean, we weren't inappropriate or anything, but both our parents knew we were sexually active. And our parents recognized our ability to make responsible decisions, so, should the need for something like a morning after pill have arisen, I don't think going through parents would have been a problem.

[QUOTE=Bruno;368444]Why would this be a bad decision?

This law won't change that. You can't stick your head in the sand and pretend that kids at that age are not going to have sex. they will. the only thing you have under your control is the amount of information and responsibility you can give them beforehand. If that is covered, then the chances of them needing a morning after pill are very, very slim.

QUOTE]

Well said, Bruno.

Kids a lot younger than 17 are having sex. I would hope parents start talking to them about it well before this age.

I think it's a good thing to have the morning after pill available. In the past, fewer options and less education did not help with the teenage pregnancy issue.

Jordan

Well, when me and my partner were 18, we had to use the morning after pill, because condom's aren't as strong as I thought and it split. If it wasn't available, not sure what I would have done. Now, I was only a year old than 17, and don't see why it should make a difference if I was 17.

Given that many children start having sex at 13 or even sooner, waiting until 17 might be too late don't you think?

Sadly this is one area where the UK is leading the world.

You don't know how lucky you are that you still view 17 as a young age to get knocked up.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

You don't know how lucky you are that you still view 17 as a young age to get knocked up.

This sentence made my stomach lurch....

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Given that many children start having sex at 13 or even sooner, waiting until 17 might be too late don't you think?

Sadly this is one area where the UK is leading the world.

You don't know how lucky you are that you still view 17 as a young age to get knocked up.

Very true. Even in the few weeks that I was a student teacher in city schools, I met many high school students with children, and some had more than one.