Talking to my Teenage Daughter about Emergency Birth Control

A couple of weeks ago Izzy was bemoaning the fact that her monthly period had found her – again. Only this time two weeks earlier than she had expected it. Which was all the more annoying because the time before that she had waited almost 40 days for her period to show up. So I told her that her body was just trying to make up for the last time and that pretty soon it would have things all figured out. That didn’t really comfort Izzy, who had planned to wear a pretty yellow dress to go out that day but then opted for black pants as a safer option.

So I asked her, “Iz, would you like to try tampons this time?”

With exasperation in her voice she said, “Mom, I’m just trying to get used to dealing with all of this first!!”

and we both laughed. I sympathized.

In a few weeks Izzy will be 14.  Apparently, according to the FDA, next year she will be a “woman” and old enough to go out and purchase “emergency “contraception by herself without the assistance of a physician, and without my input.

To put this in perspective, the little girl who needs my help and guidance in navigating the intricacies of managing her menstrual cycles and figuring out when or if to use tampons will be able to purchase and use powerful hormones on her own in 13 months.

Unbelievable.

I was complaining about this stridently a few months ago on the Huffington Post.  “But think of all the poor girls who don’t have mothers to guide them!” they said.  “Those girls need protection from pregnancy!”

So because some girls don’t have parental guidance available to them, we have to make ALL girls susceptible to the pressure and temptations of having potent medications available to them – for the good of all?

Since common sense seems to be missing from the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services, I’ve tried to talk to my own daughter about this straight from the heart, about using her head.

And this is basically what I told her: