After news of free abortions in Orlando, Fla., last week, Monday greets pro-lifers with a new affront: School officials in New York City are making the morning-after pill available to teens at 13 public schools.
That’s right, girls as young as 14 can not only go behind Mommy’s back to have sex—and even unprotected sex—they can also get the Plan B pill without Daddy ever knowing about it (and without cutting into their allowance).
In case you aren’t familiar with emergency contraceptives, Plan B is the leading brand and is widely marketed as a “back-up plan that helps prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or birth control failure …”
A prescription is required for girls under 17. But New York City high schools are circumventing the need for Mommy to take little Jill to a gynecologist for a prescription.
If Jill goes to one of these 13 New York public high schools, she can get a prescription for Plan B from Health Department doctors without ever warning Mom that her hormones are about to start doing cartwheels and backflips when the emergency contraceptive does its trick. Girls who take Plan B may experience nausea, lower abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, dizziness and other unwanted side effects.
New York City schools already distribute free condoms. Why the need to distribute
free prescription drugs that some medical experts say may induce abortions? Plan B-makers say, “There is no medical evidence that Plan B One-Step would harm a developing baby.”
But Dr. Donna Harrison, director of research for the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, calls the morning after pill “the moral equivalent of homicide.” And Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have characterized emergency contraceptives like Plan B as abortive pills.
Keep in mind that pharmaceutical manufacturers say, “The sooner you take the morning-after pill, the better it works.” Does that mean we may soon see high schools hand out the morning-after pill to teen girls so they can carry it around in their purses, just in case? Why not hand out birth control pills instead? Or better yet, how about a heavier emphasis on teaching abstinence until marriage in the school system?
First, it was free condoms; now it’s free Plan B. What’s next? With New York City reporting that about 7,000 girls get pregnant by the time they hit 17—and that more than half choose to get an abortion—could we soon see makeshift abortion clinics rise up behind the high school football field where 14-year-olds can have free, state-funded abortions? Will abortions be like field trips, except without the need to have Mommy sign a permission form? God forbid!
Parents have been notified of the New York City Plan B school program and can opt out, which would mean Jill can’t get the morning-after pill without Mom or Dad’s permission. But as the mother of a high school daughter, I can testify that it’s all too easy for kids to forge Mom’s signature or just not tell Dad about a new program at school. And many parents really don’t care what their kids do, as long as they don’t have to clean up the mess.
Parents, please, teach your kids what the Bible says about sex before marriage. Teach them about purity. Get them in a strong youth group. Keep your eyes wide open, your spiritual ears attuned and your mouth engaged in prayer for today’s youth, many of whom may never step foot inside a church to hear the message of purity.
I said it last week when I learned about the free abortions in Orlando and I’ll say it again: Pray and don’t stop praying. Amen.
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That?. You can email Jennifer at [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
