Plan B approved OTC; Pluto quits solar system in protest

"So, what do you think about RU-486?"

This was lobbed my way at the knitting circle this week.

Actually, I think it's a nasty kind of drug, I think. I can get that some folks need to abort using pills, or might prefer it for whatever reason. But in that unfortunate circumstance, heaven forbid I should need an abortion, put me on an operating table any day of the week. I didn't say this, because I'm nonjudgemental like that, and these women seem to think I know something about these topics. "You mean Plan B?"

"Yeah, that morning-after-abortion pill. Isn't it over the counter now?" she questioned sunnily.

So I went into my super-basic explanation: RU-486 is a medication that induces abortion in early pregnancy. Plan B is an emergency contraceptive, a high dose of birth control pills, that a woman can take to prevent pregnancy within five days of intercourse. It has just been approved over-the-counter for women 18 and older, although calling the local women's health clinic, I discovered that they can't actually sell OTC until Barr changes its packaging and establishes some procedures. They were happy to offer me a doctor's appointment, but I declined.

Her eyes glazed over when I went into the bit about how emergency contraceptives prevent abortion (ask me how), and so I didn't get to the part about how if she's already pregnant the pills won't work. I guess more people need to read Ema once in a while. I did get to hear another woman's story about getting the runaround when she needed a prescription on a Friday night on vacation. So I'm happy that the FDA finally moved on this. I only wish for my friend's sake that they'd've done it two years ago like they should've, and that they'd made it over the counter for everyone, so that my cousins wouldn't have to worry about getting a prescription in the middle of the night or at an ER should they need it.

As if that weren't enough, more big news on the very same day! Pluto is not a planet. Following up with the planet, though, reveals that it's acually gotten its feelings hurt by Earth:

Let me say I was happy enough without anyone else giving me a name. For millions of years, maybe even billions -- time sort of has no meaning out here -- I liked to think of myself as Lex, except for a very brief period of experimentation and confusion when I thought I was Sophia. But that's a long story, and Uranus promised never to talk about it.

Hee.

WTC Movie

Posted without much snarky comment so I can get the newspaper off my desk: a quote from a 14-year-old girl who attended a focus group about "World Trade Center".

"I remember back in 2001 when it happened on the news. I kept thinking, 'This isn't real, it's just one of those disaster movies.' This movie made me feel September 11 was real for the first time."

Thanks (or otherwise) to RedEye, August 9th. This is the generation we're raising: they don't trust what they hear on the news, but they believe what they see on the big screen.

Happy comments on LA's single-sex education plan

The Happy Feminist has interesting highlights and comments on Louisiana's single-sex education plan and the ACLU's proposed class action opposing it. Boys will be taught to be "heroic," while girls will talk about the feelings in the stories they read. Great.

I tend to really enjoy the Happy Feminist in general. She's got good, meaty topics (something y'all may starve for over here) and doesn't allow any bile or shit in her comments lounge. The posts require reader thought, which rules out some of my work-time surfing, but otherwise, when is that a bad thing? Go check her out.

Get on the bus

Hanne Blank has a great post this morning on public transit and class mobility. Who takes the bus or the train in your town? Where does it go?

Who are you, again?

And what are you doing with a blog? I know that I've been blogging like it's going out of style (which is to say, never). It's not that there haven't been many blogworthy issues, but the real life I've been having gets seriously in the way of the online life. I got to converge the two this evening with Bitch. Ph.D and a few Chicago bloggers when I went out for a drink at that hallowed institution of academic drunkery: Jimmy's. We had another academic in BitchPhD area studies, and someone working professionally in reproductive issues, so there was interesting meandering conversation. There were even a couple of poly folks, so we had a plurality of blog topics covered, but sadly we didn't get to talk much about that. And I'm not sure about how much of the Bitch Area Studies talk should go up on the blog. So I'll just say: hey! We had fun!

In the women's/reproductive news: Plan B limps towards accessibility, with lots of political posturing along the way. Ema does a good job of untangling the truth from some of the misinformation that clouds most of this debate. In Chicago, we're more interested in what's happening with the Blue Line and its most recent derailment than about women's health issues. That might change in the next couple weeks, or it might not. We'll see.

I've been looking for things besides sexual health controversy to blog about, and I just can't find any other issues that I feel need to be covered so desperately. And in the absence of other posts about "place", I guess I'll just be getting that done. Please, if you want to tell us about what's going on in your city, shout out. Nobody's posting privileges have been revoked. But while I have the mike, until the menfolk come back and want to talk about election strategy, we're just going to keep the place warm as best we know how.