By From The Editors
With the rip of a piece of rubber, a perfect night can turn into a couple's worst nightmare. Even the most well-educated and responsible sexually active collegian needs a plan to fall back on and for many women that is Plan B. The emergency contraceptive, also known as the "morning-after pill" has made headlines as the Food and Drug Administration debate whether the pill should be sold without a prescription.
The strongest argument against granting the pill an over-the-counter status is that minors could misuse it since they would not need to be monitored by a doctor. While this fear may hurt Plan B's chances of hitting the shelves of CVS and Genovese, as adults, college students should possess the maturity to take their health into their own hands. Therefore, they should not be denied the pill.
While the University can not control the actions of the FDA in regards to Plan B, the Wellness Center on campus should offer the pill to students by appointment. Since a large portion of the student population dorm on campus, it can be difficult for females whose permanent residence is outside of Nassau County to find a local physician who is covered by their insurance. With only 72 hours to ingest the pill after unprotected intercourse, the search to find a doctor with open appointments becomes even more challenging.
Even Planned Parenthood requires women in need of Plan B to schedule an appointment and these time slots usually fill up fast. The anti-abortion protesters who wave signs of mutilated fetuses near the entrance of Planned Parenthood can also intimidate a student, who is already dealing with the stress of a possible unwanted pregnancy.
If the Wellness Center provided Plan B than students could conveniently schedule an appointment and speak with a physician who may be familiar with the student's medical history.