Comments on: What About B? http://calstuff.blogsome.com/2006/08/15/what-about-b/ News and Observations about the University of California, Berkeley. Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:04:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: N http://calstuff.blogsome.com/2006/08/15/what-about-b/#comment-8605 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:17:51 +0100 http://calstuff.blogsome.com/2006/08/15/what-about-b/#comment-8605 More serious concerns? Since when is emergency contraception not a serious concern? I know you don't have a vagina or anything, but seriously. I won't repeat everything yami just said, because it was said very eloquently. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed emergency contraception? I know you haven't, but don't pass judgment on those who have or will. It is important that Tang does spend time on this and if they are allowed to give it from the pharmacy, they take the time to let people know so they can take care of themselves. And we can stop with the stretch of anything-any-campus-department-does-is-like-being-sanctioned-by-the-state-of-California. It's getting old. I'm sure the state does not officially sanction every activity that is done with its funds - sad but true. More serious concerns? Since when is emergency contraception not a serious concern? I know you don’t have a vagina or anything, but seriously. I won’t repeat everything yami just said, because it was said very eloquently. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed emergency contraception? I know you haven’t, but don’t pass judgment on those who have or will.

It is important that Tang does spend time on this and if they are allowed to give it from the pharmacy, they take the time to let people know so they can take care of themselves.

And we can stop with the stretch of anything-any-campus-department-does-is-like-being-sanctioned-by-the-state-of-California. It’s getting old. I’m sure the state does not officially sanction every activity that is done with its funds - sad but true.

]]> by: yami http://calstuff.blogsome.com/2006/08/15/what-about-b/#comment-8582 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:05:21 +0100 http://calstuff.blogsome.com/2006/08/15/what-about-b/#comment-8582 SHIP requires me to obtain all my medical care through the Tang Center (outside referrals must be pre-authorized), so I expect them to provide me with adequate primary care. This includes emergency contraception. If my thyroid conks out, or I get some other random ailment, I expect them to prescribe me the necessary drugs for that, too, even though my condition would not be a "serious concern" for student health as a whole. Plus, if you think students don't have unprotected sex, never have a condom break on them, and are never sexually assaulted, you're insane. Reproductive health care is a serious concern for students, and Plan B is certainly cheaper than abortions or babies. Why do you think that Plan B is more difficult to correctly prescribe than adderall or vicodin? The whole point of the Plan B OTC fiasco is that an FDA panel found it safe enough to merit OTC status, but their recommendation was ignored in a fairly unusual turn of procedure. Have there been serious bids to sell adderall or vicodin OTC, of which I am not aware? Though there are still significant barriers to access at many campuses, emergency contraception has been available through student health centers at state universities for more than 20 years (<a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/webzine/newspoliticsactivism/fean-060706-ec-college.xml" rel="nofollow">source</a>). Other schools have gone so far as to promote Plan B with pre-spring-break ad campaigns. Offering Plan B at the Tang Center isn't an especially large political step, it's simply routine medical care. SHIP requires me to obtain all my medical care through the Tang Center (outside referrals must be pre-authorized), so I expect them to provide me with adequate primary care. This includes emergency contraception. If my thyroid conks out, or I get some other random ailment, I expect them to prescribe me the necessary drugs for that, too, even though my condition would not be a “serious concern” for student health as a whole.

Plus, if you think students don’t have unprotected sex, never have a condom break on them, and are never sexually assaulted, you’re insane. Reproductive health care is a serious concern for students, and Plan B is certainly cheaper than abortions or babies.

Why do you think that Plan B is more difficult to correctly prescribe than adderall or vicodin? The whole point of the Plan B OTC fiasco is that an FDA panel found it safe enough to merit OTC status, but their recommendation was ignored in a fairly unusual turn of procedure. Have there been serious bids to sell adderall or vicodin OTC, of which I am not aware?

Though there are still significant barriers to access at many campuses, emergency contraception has been available through student health centers at state universities for more than 20 years (source). Other schools have gone so far as to promote Plan B with pre-spring-break ad campaigns. Offering Plan B at the Tang Center isn’t an especially large political step, it’s simply routine medical care.

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