THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 5A
FACE OFF
Contraceptive's convenience creates clash
America's reluctance to green light pill indicates distrust
Doug Lang/KANSAN
The nefarious Plan C.
The condom broke? Forgot your pill? What if a woman was sexually assaulted? What would her options be? Fifty-eight hospitals in Kansas don't fill the morning after pill prescription, even in cases of sexual assault. Five out of seven Catholic hospitals will not write prescriptions for emergency contraception (E.C.) Wal-Mart will not fill E.C. because of corporate policies. Douglas County Health Clinic and Planned Parenthood both fill the prescription, but are not open on the weekends.
Here at the University, an office fee is applied to appointments at Watkins after 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and all day Sunday during the school year. Lawrence Memorial Hospital, our only hospital, offers the morning after pill to sexual assault survivors with the exception of a few doctors. These doctors refuse to prescribe it because of "moral issues" or conscious clauses. In all cases, the doctor/pharmacist is judging the integrity of the woman. It is her rights and integrity against the morals of the doctor/pharmacists.
People are presuming that women are irresponsible, and assuming that over-the-counter emergency contraception will open the door for sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) to increase is a myth. Over-the-counter E.C. does not devalue our youth's morals, it does not warrant us to have unhealthy sexual intercourse. These presumptions might be made because some do not understand how emergency contraception works.
Anytime you have sex, not just when you are unprotected, you run the risk of getting an STD. Contraceptives are designed primarily to inhibit conception, not STDs. Even male condoms are not 100 percent effective in preventing STDs. Are these contraceptives any different than the morning after pill? No. The morning after pill is a high dosage of birth control. Let's be real, distrust of the morning after pill is indicative of a distrust of women and a belief that they are inherently irresponsible. By denying women the right to choose, or by denying the information to decide what to do with their own bodies, society is robbing women of basic human rights.
If your concern is that the younger generation will not understand this concept, then the fault lies with a lack of proper sexual education. A proper education plan must encompass how contraception and preventative sexual health practices can reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS, STDs, and pregnancy.
If one were against abortion, why would one be against emergency contraception? According to information collected by Sylvie Rueff and the Kansas Choice Alliance, the rate of abortion has dropped in the last two years because of comprehensive, effective contraception and sexual education campaigns. Knowledge and access to over-the-counter contraception would decrease the abortion rate by one third. The availability and use of contraception will not increase the likelihood of a person having intercourse. It only decreases the chances that they would inevitably get pregnant.
Women are not being trusted with decisions that pertain to their own bodies. There is no reason why emergency contraception should not become an over-the-counter treatment.
- Joy Lawson and Mia Gonzalez writing for the editorial board. Sylvie Rueff contributed to this editorial.
▼ THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
Try talking to iPeople,not iPods
Do you hate people? Well, have no fear my anti-social friend, for the age of technology is here to save you the trouble of having actual human contact.
BETSY MCLEOD
opinion@kansan.com
Too lazy to go patrol your local red light district? Just switch on your computer and head to one of the many fantasy-specific porn sites.
Or if you want more than a solid relationship with your right hand, head to one of the many online dating sites and begin your search for your one and only.
Hate dealing with those nerdy kids behind the counter at block-buster? Order a movie online. Does the human race seem rude, obnoxious, and utterly stupid?
Lucky for you, now there's a business, web portal or complimentary service available to keep you from dealing with them ever again.
the park in order to meet online for a rousing game of Countertalk.
Years ago, boys who stayed inside playing video games instead of throwing around a football would have been considered losers. Now, whole fraternities will kick aside the basketball in order to decapitate people in Halo 2.
Guys everywhere are ditching
These days it seems all human contact is being replaced by technology. You can even listen to church in podcasts.
In an August article in the New York Times, it was recorded that "since the beginning of July, the number of people or groups offering spiritual and religious podcasts listed on PodcastAlley com has grown from 177 to 474." Are people really that busy now that they can't go to church?
One of my favorite "Family Guy" episodes is the one where Peter Griffin gets his own theme music for his everyday actions. "Wouldn't it be cool," I thought, "to have a sound track to your everyday life?"
While escaping everyday reality can be a nice break sometimes, slipping on headphones for the long trek from Wescoe to Strong seems a bit ridiculous.
without seeing someone jamming to their own theme music.
You can get from one side of campus to the other in less than 10 minutes, which is barely time enough to hear two songs. Is it really that necessary to ignore everyone you see for two songs?
Well, thanks to iPod, now I can.
You can't go anywhere on campus
Sure, iPods and CD players are great things to have when running on a treadmill or zoning out in class, but why not talk to people in line at the Underground?
I met my best friend and current roommate because I started talking to her on the bus last year.
Yes, it's annoying when you're in a grumpy mood and some "Chatty Cathy" won't leave you alone, but hey, people skills are a great thing to have in life, so suck it up and deal with the human race; they aren't going anywhere.
- Betsy McLeod is an Overland Park sophomore fin journalism and French.
Current availability most realistically responsible
Sometimes accidents happen. Women get pregnant quite frequently without trying. This is why there are many different types of birth control options on the market, both over-the-counter and prescription.
The Food and Drug Administration is trying to approve the emergency contraceptive Plan B as an over-the-counter option for women over the age of 17, instead of prescription-only, as it is now. The drug would still remain prescription-only for those under 17.
Plan B, also known as the "morning after pill," should be taken up to 72 hours after having unprotected sex. According to the drug's Web site, "If it is taken within 3 days (72 hours) after unprotected sex, it will decrease the chance that you will get pregnant by 89 percent. That means seven out of every eight women who would have gotten pregnant will not get pregnant."
To have this drug sold as an over-the-counter option seems like a dream for some women. What could be better than not going to the gynecologist to receive prevention, other than condoms, from pregnancy? Sounds great, right? Wrong. The negatives of this drug outweigh the positives.
The problem lies in the fact that Plan B would be sold alongside pain relievers and cough drops. Does it really make sense that young women, who can't even purchase cigarettes or lottery tickets, would be able to buy a drug that allows them to have unprotected sex whenever they want?
Another reason that Plan B should remain a prescription-only drug is that the FDA is trying to make it legal for 17-year-old women to buy the drug. The editorial board certainly advocates the use of birth control for women of all ages, but it feels that the over-counter use of any contraceptive should not be an option for these young women.
This counteracts everything that women are taught in sexual education classes, which attempt to inject a sense of responsibility through their curriculum.
Sexually transmitted diseases could cause other problems. If women and men both know that there is a drug readily available that can prevent pregnancy without the use of condoms, sex without the use of condoms may rise. This in turn could cause the number of STDs to also rise.
These are only a few of the problems that could occur if the FDA were to eventually approve Plan B to be sold over-the-counter. If the nation wants to erase the problem of teen pregnancy, decrease the number of STD cases and also promote safe sex, then it should spend more time and effort educating young women to have protected sex rather than promoting a drug that will provoke unsafe sex.
Erin Wilev writing for the editorial board.
Football coach encourages fan attendance, enthusiasm
Dear KU students:
Get ready for another funfilled season this fall. I know you are excited about this Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic University!Get to Memorial Stadium early this year and join the student section on the east side of the Stadium. Cheer loud and 'wave the wheat' all night long.
Even if you aren't a football fan, you'll enjoy our outstanding band, dance team and yell squad. Not to mention the beautiful view of Campanile Hill at night.
Our student section has been awesome and a real noise factor for the Big 12 conference. Thanks for your support and please cheer responsibly!
Go 'Hawks!
Mark Mangino Kansas football coach
+ Who: University of Kansas vs. Florida Atlantic University
KU FOOTBALL
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium
TALK TO US
- Why: Beat the Owls!
Matthew Sevkiv, opinion editor
864-4924 or msevkiv@kansan.com
Austin Caster, editor
864-4854 or acaster@kansan.com
Jonathan Kealing, managing editor
864-4854 or jaeking at kansan.com
Sarah Connellly, business manager 864-4014 or addirector@kansan.com
John Morgan, sales director 864-4462 or adddirector@kansan.
com
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Getting caught with a little bit of pot is no reason to lose financial aid.
People who smoke marijuana should be arrested so I can get financial aid and they don't.
I had to pay my tuition with a credit card because the financial aid office doesn't believe that I got married.
The new law won't make Lawrence a weed town. It already is a weed town! Look around!
♦
We don't call ourselves liberals, progressive or radicals. We call ourselves people who are against the war, the military, and the American empire. We say we don't want recruiters on our campus to our students to get them to sign up to fight an illegal and unjust war.
to the editorial board: who buys weed by the bowl?
The new horoscopes suck. Can we change it back? (Editor's Note: I see disappointment in your future.)
I'm going to keep getting high regardless of the punishment and law enforcement.
*
I was going to comment on the reefer-endum opinion piece, but I'm so high that I forgot what I was going to say.
The picture of our linebackers is hilarious. The Kansan should blow it up and sell posters.
People die in Katrina and we complain about oil prices?
Pot smokers don't even read the paper, and won't hear about the law.
Did your headline really say reef-eater? Don't you think that's a little corny and unprofessional.
I enjoy the WNBA more than men's collegiate basketball.
To the kid who just called about the WNBA, his man-card got revoked.
McDonald's should deliver!
To the people in the Triangle fraternity, get ready for Rhombus fraternity!
The editorial board needs to get their facts straight. You don't go to jail when you smoke pot.
Please stop misspelling instances of "its" and "whose."
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