Guilt is part of the package when we become mothers. Lol

i am absolutely pro-Plan-B for adults. other people’s reproductive choices are none of my damn business. i am not 100% convinced that making Plan B accessible to 15-year-olds will encourage them to make responsible life choices (see author’s notes on STD’s, etc.). but i am also not 100% convinced that leaving 15-year-olds to deal with the lifelong consequences of becoming pregnant at that age is socially responsible, either.

look: i hope that my kid comes to me when she has questions about sex. i don’t want her to learn those things on the streets. but i also feel like i have a good relationship with my child, and open lines of communication, and the fact is that many parents DON’T. they just DON’T. when i had to conduct my surveys for field observation, i found that at least 30% of the students interviewed come from single-parent families, with parents who work multiple jobs. more than 50% of the students reported seeing their parents for fewer than 2 hours a day. many of them are “latchkey” kids who are responsible for making their own dinners and would not get breakfast or lunch if not for the school cafeteria.

unfortunately, these kids are raising THEMSELVES, and they often feel that they have no one but themselves to help them make decisions. i wish there was some other kind of adult “filter” between kids and Plan B, but these children don’t feel like they can talk to their parents or teachers about this stuff. who else could they talk to? what else could they do?