Plan B

Today, Bob said Plan B is an abortifacient. That is simply a LIE!

Plan B is a contraceptive drug that delivers a high dose of levonorgestrel. Also known as the "morning after pill,," it recently won approval for over-the-counter sale after a heated battle with religious right forces.

Plan B is not an abortifacient. Plan B prevents pregnancy by either stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, preventing fertilization of the egg, or preventing an egg from being attached to the uterus. Plan B will do nothing to a fertilized egg that is already attached to the uterus.

Plan B works just like the regular birth control pill that women have been taking for years. But, of course, the religious right would have you believe that birth control pills themselves are abortifacients.

But you know what, Bob and his ilk have the right to believe that birth control pills and Plan B cause abortions, are murder, are evil, are against God's will. Whatever. I don't care.

People have a right to their own opinions, no matter how convoluted they may be. What bothers me, and I know I've said this before, is that Bob thinks that the government should be the ones to make these important, personal decisions. In Bob's fantasy world, a grown, self-aware woman's right to control her body is less important than a microscopic clump of cells.