That's what Planned Parenthood is for, though I don't know how well they cover rural areas.

dana, do they have the "morning after" pill over there?

last i heard you could not get that in the US...anyone know if that has changed?

Yes we have the morning after pill. I am not wholly sure but I think they are now available ( or about to become available) over the counter at the pharmacy. Standard contraceptive pill is available on the NHS which means if you are out of work or under the age of 16 you dont even have to pay a prescription charge, though you do have to get it via your doctor ( I htink that's still the case) Visits to the doctor dont cost anything though so it's only ever prescription charges which need be taken into account. The prescription charge is a standard charge which is applied to each item on the prescription regardless of that item's value. This means some things are cheaper to buy over the counter *smiles* and the doc usually advises that. Other stuff is much more expensive over the counter than the standard charge of ( I think) £5.80...again though thats not applicable if you are out of work or on low ( assisted) income or too young to earn.

(edited to say, I just checked and standard contraceptives dont incur any prescription charges. Morning after pills also))

You can get the morning after pill here, but currently only with a prescription (the FDA rejected OTC sales last week).

I might add, with a little bitterness, that the FDA's own scientists and doctors recommended that the pill be made available over the counter, but the conservative political appointees running the agency bowed to outside pressure from conservative religious groups and banned over the counter sales of the drug.

Anyone But Bush 2004

How so? The parents are told of the issues that they will be facing, and if they choose to go ahead and have the child, then they need to get their house in order.

I totally thank them. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to get my Depo years ago.

DanaC:
Is birthcontrol difficult to acquire in the States?

IMO, it can be frustrating:
PAYING FOR BIRTH CONTROL

I'm looking into getting an IUD. My gyn just told me the other day that some insurances won't cover that, and that they are expensive. I'll be S.O.L. if I can't get one (I can't take hormonal BC methods because of my other health issues). However, if in the event that I can't get the IUD, then I'll have to look into a tubal ligation.

(re: glatt's mention of the FDA banning over the counter access to the pill)
FDA rejects over-the-counter morning-after pill

eugenics didn’t work for the nazis and it won’t work for america

"Oh dear, I never though Little Jimmy would need constant care for the Attention Deficit/Retardation/CF/Autism/Downs/What-have-you. I guess I'll just leave him in a pile of his own excrement while I go out to work..."

Almost by definition, the people who make these bad decisions will be the most ill-equipped to deal with the consequences. Again, the hypothetical children will be the ones who suffer the most.

- Pie

Wait: you *did* read that I suggested that the parents-to-be are well informed of the child's potential problems, so how did you get that the parents would be ignorant of those facts out of my scenario? :confused: This way, no one is being forced to do anything against their will, and the parents certainly won't be able to lie and say that they didn't know.

Hmm....I think you may have missed the point. regardless of how well you inform the parents, you cannot actually forcibly insert awareness of consequences into someone's head. If you make that potential parent aware of how much the child will need.....that doesnt necessarily mean they will be able to /choose to/ understand how to provide for the child....In which case no matterhow much you tried to tell the parent the child would suffer. If those parents dont follow through and the child is sitting in a pool of its own excrement surely we cant just stand aside and say oh well we warned your parents about this.

No one was being forced. A choice needed to be made, and awareness was offered. Now, if they choose to have the child knowing the issues, and they still are dumb enough to be negligent, then they *really* have no business being parents, now do they? (noticed I didn't say they didn't have the "right", but Christ almighty, can't people THINK before they decide to bring a life into the world anymore???)

Quote:

If you make that potential parent aware of how much the child will need.....that doesnt necessarily mean they will be able to /choose to/ understand how to provide for the child....In which case no matter how much you tried to tell the parent the child would suffer. If those parents dont follow through and the child is sitting in a pool of its own excrement surely we cant just stand aside and say oh well we warned your parents about this.

Who takes care of that child then?

I guess my scenario was too simplistic: either you have the kid and accept the risks, or you don't and move on. *shrugs* I can't see why it should be any harder than that, especially when society keeps yapping about "personal responsibility" and "accountability". Oh well, I guess I was wrong about that. *thows up hands*

Gyah, what was *I* thinking? People take parenting classes and probably *still* fuck it all up. Ha, and I thought that I had come up with a viable solution...shucks! I suppose mandatory classes is out of the question too since it would be seen as some type of "force" upon the potential parents.

Yup, the children will suffer and they continue to do so. Back to our regularly scheduled breeding.

I suppose mandatory classes is out of the question too since it would be seen as some type of "force" upon the potential parents.

Judges often order one or both parents in a custody dispute to attend parenting classes. Usually they don't go, and it's never mentioned again.

More than 50% of children born in this country are unplanned. 'Nuff said.

- Pie

I think DanaC also doesn't understand that children are not property of the state in the US. Nor do we want them to be.