Haven’t several women (under medical supervision) died taking RU-486? Maybe the hospital asks these tedious questions so they’ll know whose going to be suing them in the event something goes astray.
So, the sperm hasn’t even drilled into the ovum in the alloted time-frame, but it’s still the moral equivalent of abortion to prevent this?
So then those women in bars cock-blocking for their drunken girlfriends are the moral equivalent of abortionists?
RU-486 (Mifepristone) is not the same as emergency contraception (the “morning after” pill)..
The DA can press charges with our without the victim’s consent and the victim can be forced to testify against their will. You wouldn’t need to name your attacker but; the hospital would almost certainly want to do a rape exam on you and contact policy (I don’t think they can do this without your consent though). Also falsely claiming rape demeans actual rape victims. While I agree with the hospital about asker her if she was raped the questions regarding marital status and how many children she had were out of line (unless there’s a medical reason to know if she’s ever been pregnant, IANAD).
This is a completely different drug! It’s a high dose of regular birth control pills.
I doubt this particular story but I don’t doubt that it can be damn hard to get.
I got two words:
There are chapters everywhere (there are 38 in Ohio alone), and they provide EC. The one in my area has a toll-free number for the whole state you can call anytime to obtain it, plus they’ve got information online about how it works.
Tell every woman you know who might need it. This information will still be valuable after EC goes on sale in January, because inevitably there will be places that choose not to stock it, and if you are under 18 you can’t get it OTC.
If the woman in the OP had only known this little bit of info, she would have been saved all that incredible hassle.
Calling a doctor’s office on the weekend, particularly if you are not already a patient, is a waste of time, and emergency rooms are expensive even if you are lucky enough to have them cooperate with you.
Pro-lifer checking in here.
I don’t like the fact that EC is legal. It is (in my view) designed to kill, even if no one is certain that anything dies. I know I’ll be slagged for saying that, but it’s what I believe. And I fully acknowledge that educated, well-intentioned people can believe otherwise. But in my view, the egg becomes a human life as soon as it is fertilized. I know that most on this board disagree, and that many others believe that the issue of when life begins is irrelevant. Since life begins at fertilization, EC pills are designed to end life. I understand that almost everyone in this thread disagrees and thinks that EC should be legal and readily available. I disagree.
However, the fact remains that it is legal. As such, doctors should prescribe it for patients that ask for it and pharmacists should fill those prescriptions. If I were a doctor or pharmacist, I would, alhough it would pain me. Unless the doctor/pharmacist has a legitimate medical reason for denying EC, they should give it. Moral objections are no excuse for a doctor/pharmacist to deny medical care to a patient. They should be ashamed of themselves.
There may be some legitimate basis for asking questions about marital status, number of children, possibility of rape, etc. If the woman was raped, maybe tests for various STDs are in order, and if the woman is married, that might affect insurance coverage. I’m not saying that that’s why the questions were asked, I’m simply saying that it’s possible. But if a doctor is asking questions to determine if the woman “deserves” the EC, by some criteria he sets, then I’m in favor of that doctor losing his license to practice medicine.
Actually I have always heard that (1) yes it would serve to prevent ovulation but that (2) it also serves to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg if an egg was present and was successfully fertilized.
I’m sure I can find some cites…
The thing is, fertilized eggs fail to implant all the time naturally. So the fertilized egg, as big as this period → . passes from the body and the woman never even knows. I don’t see the religious zealots examining women’s menustral blood under a microscope looking for expelled embryos and holding funerals… so why do they care if the morning-after pill prevents implanatation of a 72-hour old bundle of 8 cells?
Because the first case is God’s will, and the second is MURDER! By a GODLESS SLUT!
Yea, I also read some of her other rants. It would appear she has some serious mental issues.
. Make that thirty years, not 2,5. The last time a Dutch doctor would get away with questioning a womans marital status and sexual “morality” before prescribing an EC-pill, would have been in the late seventies.
Unfortunately, that’s not true. There is, for example, not a single Planned Parenthood in the entire state of North Dakota.
Depends what you mean by a major city, I think. I would say there are only three major cities in Ohio, and Portsmouth or Marietta or Steubenville would both put you (I think) over 100 miles from any. I live 40 miles from Columbus, and there’s pretty much nothing south and/or east of me. Some insurance requires that you stay in the state unless it’s an emergency, and they probably wouldn’t count EC as an emergency.
Getting a last-minute appointment with an OB-Gyn is next to impossible in my experience.
I don’t really believe the details of the woman’s story, but I believe the general idea of it.
EC prevents fertilization from occuring. It is making a potentiality more improbable, not destroying an already-fertilized egg.
I’d just like to add to the chorus of women who are saying that it’s next to impossible to get into the OBGYN within any reasonable time period.
The only reason I remember to even go to my annual is that my BC pill script is only good for one year. I usually only remember this when I’m on my last two weeks of pills and call for a refill, only to find out that I’m out. Then I have to schedule an appointment. Best case scenario: I get in in about one month. Several times (three of the last four times) it has been over three months. Luckily, the doctors will up my script for a few months in the mean time.
And emergency services from an OB? Bwahaha. Cute. I remember one time a while back where I thought something wasn’t quite right. In fact, I knew something was wrong. I called in to the doc and needed to be seen sometime that week-- the nurse agreed, but said the soonest they could get me in would be 3 and a half weeks. Did I mention this was something the nurse thought was pretty urgent? Yeah.
Luckily, it turned out to not really be anything, but eesh. If it had, I’d be screwed (or, you know, hospitalized).
I have Kaiser and I’m not even sure of their EC policy, but I’d imagine that I probably would not be able to get in within the 72 hour period. Faced with that problem, I’d probably shell out the $ at Planned Parenthood, but I also know that not everyone is lucky enough to have a PP close.
I agree, but you miss the point.
We have a safe, reasonably effective, and legal means of birth control that can be used after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. There was no medical reason why she should not use that method.
If she had wanted to discuss the issue of the morality of emergency contraception, I’m sure there are priests, ministers, rabbis, counselors, and so on and so forth who would be happy to do that with her. That’s their job, not her doctor’s.
An analogy:
I’m an IT person. Say I work for a company that provides home internet access, and also say that I have a moral objection to viewing pornography (neither of which is actually true). If you call me about a problem with your internet connection, should I be allowed to question you to make sure you’re not using that connection to view porn, and refuse to help you if you are?
I agree it can be difficult, but I think it’s strange that if a doctor is willing to prescribe EC, that he or she would not be willing to squeeze a person in…I mean, it’s not like you can plan 2 months in advance that you will need it!
Maybe it would be a good idea for either the Plan B manufacturer or Planned Parenthood to list on their website the hospital emergency rooms and gynecologists who are not only willing to prescribe it, but also a little more motivated to provide this kind of care in the timely fashion it requries.
If I’m having what I consider to be an emergency and the doctor’s office is giving me one of those “next available slot is 2 months from now”, you’ll find me in the waiting room with a pillow, blanket, and bag full of snacks. I’m going to be polite about it, and I’m going to expect that any other patients with actual appointments do get seen first, but I’m also not leaving until I get seen, unless it’s in handcuffs.
It’s never gotten to handcuffs.
“Allowed” by whom?
The company should be able to fire you for such a stance.
But if you’re an independent consultant, or of you work for a company that permits or encourages such a stance, we should not have a law that forces you to provide IT services to people that will use them to watch porn.