Plan B, the emergency contraceptive that was to be sold over the counter without a prescription has finally been approved for women 18 and older. If taken within 3 days of unprotected sex, it cuts the chance of pregnancy by 89%.

The issue came up as several Senators including Hillary Clinton refused to approve FDA candidate, Andrew von Eschenbach, who was undergoing Senate confirmation hearings. Von Eschenbach decided to approve the drug rather than be interrogated by a bunch of angry women’s rights proponents.

It amazes me that it took this long. In a world where abortion is legal and birth control is easy to get, why shouldn’t an emergency contraceptive be convenient as well? Yes, there will always be pro-lifers arguing that life begins at conception, but for the rest of us, we’re talking about not allowing a fertilized egg - that maybe 8-10 cells at max by day 3 - to implant into the wall of the uterus. At that stage, the cell cluster has no neural structures whatsoever and certainly has no sense of consciousness - or anything that we might vaguely think of as “human.”

On the more practical side, for those arguing this will encourage “promiscuity,” there are still STDs to contend with. It’s not like everyone’s just going to stop using birth control because emergency contraception is now available. Especially since there are some side effects (nausea and vomiting) and it costs as much as a one-month supply of the birth control pill.

It’s a shame that these types of issues become so politically charged - and that the morality of a few can influence the medical care of the country - that it takes 3+ years to resolve.