sotto voce

I’ve another week before the end of this purgatory. Until then, I believe I’m going to disappoint everyone around me.

It’s difficult to live when you’re surrounded by this fog of uncertainty. I’m moody, I’m easily pissed off, I’m on edge every minute of the day (to the point that I’m having stiff neck almost every other day). I don’t really want to talk to people/ socialize because I feel like a fucking loser. psth…

Anyway: two unrelated things.

1. Favorite track of the week: Laura Marling "Ghosts". Great voice, great lyrics, interesting chord progression in the middle. And, she’s only nineteen!!

2. Read an article in NYTimes yesterday on FDA lowering age limit for Plan B. Starting now, anyone above the age of 17 can get Plan B (without parents’ approval or prescription (which necessitates doctor’s visit)). What I find interesting from the article is that, until now there’s no data supporting the claim that morning-after pill reduces the number of unplanned pregnancies or the number of abortion. 

 Disclaimer: I haven’t done any fact-checking and am actually using this blog to look for research ideas. Feedbacks are welcome. I do intent to do a more thorough analysis of the data available to back up my claims. And if there’s no data available, even better. That means I (potentially) will have a thesis dissertation.

I have a couple guesses as to why the morning-after pill is seemingly ineffective as a public health measure. Number one: It’s pretty expensive without insurance (I think it’s about 50 bucks in the pharmacy. It’s probably cheaper through Planned Parenthood / school’s dispensary). Currently there are only 25 states that require insurance plans that cover birth control, including emergency contraception (EC). Out of these 25 states, several states exclude EC from the requirement. Also, note that it says insurance plans, not providers. That means, the insurance company might have insurance plans that cover birth controls, but these plans are more expensive than the basic ones. That means, if you have a basic insurance policy or if your insurance is employment-based, there’s a chance that your insurance plan only covers the most basic of birth control or none at all. Furthermore, I won’t be surprised if the same segment of the population who can’t afford health insurance is the same segment that contributes the most to the unplanned pregnancies numbers.

Number two: lack of understanding about emergency contraception.
With the federally-funded, abstinence-only sex education, you can bet your bottom dollar there’s no mention of EC (fun-fact: US$3.6 billion allocated for this f* program. Guess how many condoms that much money can buy…). But, even in sex-ed classes that teaches contraception, EC is often not mentioned, because there’s a widespread misconception that equates EC to RU-486 (which is the so-called ‘abortion pill’). And if someone happens to wander here while looking for the answer: NO, Plan-B is not considered an abortifacient because it acts before the implantation.

Anyway, if we’re really intent on cutting the number of unplanned pregnancies in this country, here’s an idea: make birth-control more easily accessible to women—- by making some of them over-the-counter and by making them cheaper! But that’s for another entry.

Till then, remember that abstinence-only education does not work.