Ask the Sexpert: Dec. 15, 2011

Dear Sexpert,

What’s going on with Plan B in the news, and will it affect my ability to get it on campus?

—Pillbug

Dear Pillbug,

Last week Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, overruled a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration that supported making emergency contraception — Plan B — available without a prescription to girls under the age of 17. At the moment, young women in the United States who are 17 and older are able to buy Plan B from a pharmacy without a prescription, but if you are 16 years old or younger you must have a prescription from a physician. Pharmacists will check your identification to make sure you are old enough to legally purchase the pill without a prescription before selling it to you.

Honestly, while this story has been quite controversial and its implications widely discussed at a national level, it is unlikely to have a great effect on the experience of Princeton students who need emergency contraception. Some commentators have implied that Secretary Sebelius and the Obama administration vetoed the FDA’s recommendation because allowing girls under 17 to purchase the pill more easily is simply too divisive and politically hot to endorse when the general election is on the horizon.

In her response to the FDA, Secretary Sebelius implied that her decision to reject the recommendation was partly due to the fact that the FDA had neglected to sufficiently investigate the use of Plan B by those girls who become capable of conceiving at a young age, as in 11 years old. Sebelius insisted that more studies would need to be done before she would endorse selling Plan B without a prescription to younger girls.

We don’t have many 11-year-olds residing on campus, but there are students at Princeton who are under 17, meaning that they cannot purchase the medication without a prescription. This means that they would not be able to buy Plan B at a pharmacy, like the CVS on Nassau Street, which is where many students purchase emergency contraception. However, students under 17 can go to University Health Services, where they can get a prescription for Plan B after a brief consultation with a health care professional.

Students of any age should consider UHS if they are in need of emergency contraception. Not only will they have an opportunity to ask a physician any questions they might have, but the medication itself is available at a reduced price. Plan B at UHS costs roughly half as much as it does at CVS. Students should remember that the person taking the medication must be the one who consults with the physician at UHS. Friends or sexual partners are welcome to go as support or company, but they cannot go in place of the person taking the drug.

— The Sexpert

The Sexpert is written by a team of peer sexual health educators and fact-checked by University health professionals. You can submit questions to sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com. Don’t be shy!