This woman could have been any of us. She’s not an irresponsible teenager, or a sexual-abuse victim, or any other one of the unfortunate stereotypes that are pointed to when discussing emergency contraception. And therein lies the point. An emergency can happen to any of us, and that’s why all of us need to protect, preserve, and stand up for the right to purchase emergency contraception immediately. Teens, young adults, sexual abuse victims, mothers, girlfriends—we are all equal opportunity targets for an emergency situation.
So what can you do? Well, since 2006, nearly half the states have introduced legislation that will allow pharmacists to deny emergency contraception based on moral or religious objections, so you can write your local representative and ask them what they are doing to keep immediate access to emergency contraception protected. You can ask your neighborhood pharmacist if they provide EC without delay, and thank them if they do. You can visit Planned Parenthood’s Web site and sign up to survey a neighborhood pharmacy to ensure that every woman in every city in every neighborhood in America has access to emergency contraception. You can donate to non-profit organizations like Planned Parenthood so that they can continue their fight against lawmakers that are determined to make EC illegal and unavailable. You can learn all you can about EC and educate those around you. You can be a part of the journey to create and support laws that provide women their deserved rights.
[Note: After the writing of this article, I learned that Washington State passed a law that stated pharmacists could not stand in the way of filling EC pills for women! Score one for the ladies!]
Planned Parenthood’s Action Web site
Feminist Women’s Health Center’s Web site for EC
Plan B Web site
