B is for Beneficial

It looks like the Plan B contraceptive pill will soon be available for over-the-counter sales in New York City and elsewhere. This is a decidedly good thing. If your condom breaks, or if, in a torrent of passion, you stupidly ignore protective measures, it's good to have a backup plan for obviating unwanted pregnancy.

Predictably, that's not how conservatives view the matter. For some of them, Plan B falls too uncomfortably close to abortion, that ongoing holocaust of tiny innocent people by the liberal legions of Lucifer himself.

Other conservatives, like the blockheaded cretin I saw on the news tonight, argue that Plan B is dangerous because it encourages promiscuity and more casual attitudes towards sex.

This is precisely the same argument that has been used throughout history against condoms, birth control pills, and abortion itself. But there is nothing to support the contention that birth control increases lustful behavior. People are ALWAYS lustful; Plan B and other birth control measures just prevent unwanted potential babies from being born or aborted at a later stage.

The conservative on the news also expressed concern that Plan B might fall into the hands of underage girls. Uh... point being? Would he rather that they go through with pregnancy? 16-year-old girls should be studying precal and applying to college, not breastfeeding and changing diapers. And again, the same argument could be made about condoms; should we deny them to teenagers because they give them sexual license? You're not going to stop teenagers from having sex, but birth control can at least provide options for safety and the prevention of unwanted pregnancy.

To think that people will actually curb their sexual appetites without Plan B is a hilarious departure from everything psychology, biology, and history teach us about human nature. And conservatives call liberals naive!