Your Body, Your Choice: Pregnancy, Plan B, & a Woman’s Right to Decide

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If I have one strongly held belief (OK, fine, I have a lot of them), it's that women deserve to be in control of their own bodies. Women should be permitted to make their own health decisions, to be listened to by their health care providers, & to be supported by policies that ensures their bodily autonomy & reproductive choice.

That includes:

1.  The right to make their own medical decisions & to be listened to by their doctors 
2. The right to decide whether to be on birth control & what birth control to take 
3. The right to decide when & if to become pregnant 

Let's talk about that last one for a moment, shall we?

Today, I want to talk about Plan B One-Step, sometimes called “The Morning-After Pill.”



Do you remember when Plan B first became available without a prescription? I do. It was 2006, & I was a college senior (a prime audience, given that half of the women who take this emergency contraceptive are 18-24). It was a much-discussed development among my friends because before then, Plan B was only available at a doctors office and with a prescription.

Plan B must be taken within 72 hours of sex, so in its early days, women had to make an appointment with their physician immediately upon needing it, or try to get to a clinic to obtain a prescription ASAP. That’s a lot of pressure, hard work, & stress.

These days, Plan B One-Step is available without a prescription – no doctor, no ID, nothing. If you need it, all you have to do is pluck it off the shelf & buy it.

For some women, though, even that can be a scary barrier.

One morning, years ago, a friend approached me in a panic: She needed Plan B, but was too embarrassed to face the pharmacist, afraid of being judged or shamed or even just seen by someone she knew. I tried to reassure her that needing Plan B was no more embarrassing or shameful than taking birth control – which is to say, not embarrassing or shameful at all. In fact, seeking measures to prevent unwanted pregnancy is incredibly responsible.

As women, though, we're taught to be ashamed of our bodies, our sexuality, & even our medical needs. Even the most progressive & open-minded among us may succumb to that feeling of shame when it comes to needing emergency contraceptives. It’s like we’re supposed to be embarrassed that we’ve ever had sex!

But let me say it again: There is nothing to be ashamed of.

And let’s talk about the science for a sec, shall we? Levonorgestrel, the active ingredient in Plan B One-Step, is the same ingredient in many birth control pills – just at a higher dose, and works in a similar manner by delaying or preventing ovulation to prevent pregnancy. One more time for the folks in the back: Plan B One-Step is not an abortion pill, won’t affect existing pregnancy, & won’t impact future fertility. Period. If you're comfortable taking birth control, you can feel comfortable taking Plan B One-Step.

As for my friend? She finally agreed to go to the pharmacy, & I joined her for support. It went off without a hitch, like any other transaction. In fact, the kind pharmacist kept his voice extra-low so he didn’t embarrass her or reveal her medical needs to anyone else in line.



Plan B One-Step is available in the contraceptive/family planning aisle of the pharmacy, including the CVS at Target – so you can literally just pop over & grab it while you’re shopping for frozen pizza,  denim shorts, & hot pink statement earrings (OK, fine, those are just my recent Target purchases). If you're looking for the product & can’t find it, just ask the pharmacist to point you in the right direction.

As women, we should be in complete charge of when or if we become pregnant, & with whom. Plan B One-Step allows women that bodily autonomy, putting us in control of our own bodies & protecting ourselves & our families from unwanted pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a beautiful, wonderful thing – when it’s the right thing for you, at the time. And if it’s not? No shame.

If you or someone you love needs Plan B One-Step – or wants to have it on hand for a future “just in case” moment – you can use this coupon to get $10 off your purchase.