it's like they took the words right out of my mouth

I was going to write some more about Plan B today. Then I opened up my email today and found the electronic version of the Daily Trojan, one of the best collegiate newspapers out there. In the DT is an editorial from the editors about yesterday's FDA decision. It's short, sweet, and exactly what I wanted to say.

FDA birth pill decision doesn't go far enough

The Food and Drug Administration Thursday approved Plan B, an emergency contraceptive pill, for over-the-counter sale to adults.

Not to be confused with RU-486 - the so-called "abortion pill" that kills off embryos up to two months after conception - Plan B has proven effective in laboratory trials at preventing fertilization, provided it is taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. And what's more, it's proven to be extremely safe.

So it's logical to assume that the decision-making process regarding its sale without a doctor's prescription was open-and-shut.

Wrong. Instead, Plan B's manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals, unwittingly found itself at the epicenter of an intense, three-year ideological mud-slinging contest, with the Bush administration's conservative base arguing that the drug's free sale would encourage further the dreaded American promiscuity.

When these old-fashioned moral arguments didn't make much of an impact, conservative political action groups quickly produced "research" of their own illustrating the drug's alleged medical danger - though neither legitimate researchers nor the FDA's extensive review process could turn up similar results.

So while the eventual, common-sense decision to approve its free sale should be applauded, it's unacceptable that minors will still be required to get a doctor's prescription to buy the drug.

Indeed, the age restriction, an obvious peace offering to the Christian right, might seem harmless, but will in practice prevent many women under 18 - arguably the group most susceptible to the negative effects of unsafe intercourse, particularly given the state of sex education in America's public schools - from getting help when they need it most.

America long ago strayed from its Puritan roots. And while the morality of teenage sex is still up for debate, that it's occurring in massive numbers is no longer a question.

Forcing our teens - who might need Plan B the most - to jump through the same old hoops merely ensures that what could have permanently alleviated America's teenage-pregnancy problem, will instead sit on the shelf, waiting for another buyer.