More about Plan B
posted by bitchphd
A reader sent me this story; I think it's apropos to reprint it here.
Saturday night, there was "an accident." Condom slippage, if you must know. In the kind of situation that seldom results in a pregnancy, but you never know. Little did I know that this would be my introduction to how different medical practices and practitioners are from state to state.
Having come from California, where Plan B or the equivalent is available from a pharmacist, imagine my chagrin when I showed up at the pharmacy on Sunday morning like the ultra-responsible person I thought I was, only to be told that Southern State Law said I needed a prescription. To his credit, the pharmacist did say I had 72 hours and that I could go to Urgent Care or the emergency room, but that that would be pretty expensive, so maybe I should wait till Monday and see my doctor.
I went to Urgent Care, and asked to see someone. I told the receptionist why, and she said, "We don't do that here. Moral reasons." My first thought was, "WTF??? It's been 12 hours. It'll be a much bigger moral concern if I don't do this, you self-righteous bitch!" My second was, "OMG -- this is the only urgent care facility in this college town -- what do students do?" My third was to go home and call the emergency room.
The emergency room nurse was very nice, but suggested waiting till the next day, because really, I had time, and they were busy and it's expensive. And she seemed entirely offended at the attitude of the urgent care person. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out the moral reasons, because the MAP/Plan B is contraception, not an abortifacient. And even if it were, that's legal. How is it that one of the only weekend providers in a town can refuse to provide legal medical treatment? It's not affiliated with any religious organization, even.
Monday, I called my doctor. I was already thinking of changing doctors because I prefer female gynecologists. Moreover, the guy's decorative scheme was pretty much "Madonna and Child" -- not the actual M & C, but that imagery. So I was pleasantly surprised when the secretary said it would be no problem.
Fast forward through an afternoon of meetings where my phone was turned off, to find at 4 p.m. that the nurse had been calling me all day. Doctor (this is how she referred to him) would not prescribe without a pregnancy test. I pointed out that it had been about 40 hours, i.e., that any test was likely to be negative, and wasn't that the point of emergency contraception? Besides, for goodness' sake, there was no ejaculation! I was just being careful!! She apologized but said I needed to get across town before the lab closed at 4:30. There is no law in this state that a test must be done, by the way. I checked.
I asked a colleague to call her OB/GYN and ask if there were any way to squeeze me in, just in case. There wasn't, but she said that, were I already one of her patients, I'd have been able to call and leave a message and would have had the prescription on Sunday. I guess I had to prove I really, really wanted the MAP. So I went. I peed in a cup. I waited for them to tell me that I wasn't pregnant. I watched them charge my insurance company for a totally unnecessary test. Can you blame me for insisting they give me the prescription in writing?
I informed the stony-faced lab tech and receptionist that I would be changing practices. I went to the pharmacy. I waited. I lodged a complaint with my insurance company, and asked them to see if this test was necessary. I got my prescription. The pharmacist was not as pleasant as he usually is.
Here's the kicker: the prescription was half the recommended dosage. Rather than giving me the trademarked Plan B, I was given the alternate acceptable method, multiple dosages of regular oral contraceptives. Neither the pharmacy nor the doctor's office offered me any counseling on side effects, things to watch out for, etc.
So I went online. I found this site; it was very useful. It also had information regarding recommended dosages. The site said I should take 4 pills now, and 4 in 12 hours. My doctor said 2 and 2.
I put in a call to my old doctor in California. I looked at the Planned Parenthood site. I looked for a nearby Planned Parenthood. My Left Coast Metro Area had one about every 15 miles -- something like 15 for an area of about 400k people. The closest PP to where I live in Southern State is 75 miles away. I called PP on the Left Coast, because the one near me didn't have a way to dial through. The nurse at PP got very angry, and said to take the recommended dosage, not the prescibed one. A few minutes later, my Left Coast doctor's office called to say the same thing.
What happened to me could happen to anyone. I happen to know my rights, and the (federal) law, and am old enough and cranky enough to get in people's faces. And yet, I felt abused and humiliated by my experience. In order to get medical treatment that is perfectly legal, and which exists in part to prevent pregnancy and the possibility of actual abortion, I had to humble myself and jump through someone else's hoops. But what if I hadn't had a car? a flexible schedule? been young and insecure? not had insurance? How is it that my freedoms as a citizen do not include being treated civilly and humanely by the medical establishment of my community?
Soon that kind of panic will be (except for girls under 18) a thing of the past. And just in time, too, she says bitterly: the cost of regular birth control pills just went way, way up.
Saturday night, there was "an accident." Condom slippage, if you must know. In the kind of situation that seldom results in a pregnancy, but you never know. Little did I know that this would be my introduction to how different medical practices and practitioners are from state to state.
Having come from California, where Plan B or the equivalent is available from a pharmacist, imagine my chagrin when I showed up at the pharmacy on Sunday morning like the ultra-responsible person I thought I was, only to be told that Southern State Law said I needed a prescription. To his credit, the pharmacist did say I had 72 hours and that I could go to Urgent Care or the emergency room, but that that would be pretty expensive, so maybe I should wait till Monday and see my doctor.
I went to Urgent Care, and asked to see someone. I told the receptionist why, and she said, "We don't do that here. Moral reasons." My first thought was, "WTF??? It's been 12 hours. It'll be a much bigger moral concern if I don't do this, you self-righteous bitch!" My second was, "OMG -- this is the only urgent care facility in this college town -- what do students do?" My third was to go home and call the emergency room.
The emergency room nurse was very nice, but suggested waiting till the next day, because really, I had time, and they were busy and it's expensive. And she seemed entirely offended at the attitude of the urgent care person. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out the moral reasons, because the MAP/Plan B is contraception, not an abortifacient. And even if it were, that's legal. How is it that one of the only weekend providers in a town can refuse to provide legal medical treatment? It's not affiliated with any religious organization, even.
Monday, I called my doctor. I was already thinking of changing doctors because I prefer female gynecologists. Moreover, the guy's decorative scheme was pretty much "Madonna and Child" -- not the actual M & C, but that imagery. So I was pleasantly surprised when the secretary said it would be no problem.
Fast forward through an afternoon of meetings where my phone was turned off, to find at 4 p.m. that the nurse had been calling me all day. Doctor (this is how she referred to him) would not prescribe without a pregnancy test. I pointed out that it had been about 40 hours, i.e., that any test was likely to be negative, and wasn't that the point of emergency contraception? Besides, for goodness' sake, there was no ejaculation! I was just being careful!! She apologized but said I needed to get across town before the lab closed at 4:30. There is no law in this state that a test must be done, by the way. I checked.
I asked a colleague to call her OB/GYN and ask if there were any way to squeeze me in, just in case. There wasn't, but she said that, were I already one of her patients, I'd have been able to call and leave a message and would have had the prescription on Sunday. I guess I had to prove I really, really wanted the MAP. So I went. I peed in a cup. I waited for them to tell me that I wasn't pregnant. I watched them charge my insurance company for a totally unnecessary test. Can you blame me for insisting they give me the prescription in writing?
I informed the stony-faced lab tech and receptionist that I would be changing practices. I went to the pharmacy. I waited. I lodged a complaint with my insurance company, and asked them to see if this test was necessary. I got my prescription. The pharmacist was not as pleasant as he usually is.
Here's the kicker: the prescription was half the recommended dosage. Rather than giving me the trademarked Plan B, I was given the alternate acceptable method, multiple dosages of regular oral contraceptives. Neither the pharmacy nor the doctor's office offered me any counseling on side effects, things to watch out for, etc.
So I went online. I found this site; it was very useful. It also had information regarding recommended dosages. The site said I should take 4 pills now, and 4 in 12 hours. My doctor said 2 and 2.
I put in a call to my old doctor in California. I looked at the Planned Parenthood site. I looked for a nearby Planned Parenthood. My Left Coast Metro Area had one about every 15 miles -- something like 15 for an area of about 400k people. The closest PP to where I live in Southern State is 75 miles away. I called PP on the Left Coast, because the one near me didn't have a way to dial through. The nurse at PP got very angry, and said to take the recommended dosage, not the prescibed one. A few minutes later, my Left Coast doctor's office called to say the same thing.
What happened to me could happen to anyone. I happen to know my rights, and the (federal) law, and am old enough and cranky enough to get in people's faces. And yet, I felt abused and humiliated by my experience. In order to get medical treatment that is perfectly legal, and which exists in part to prevent pregnancy and the possibility of actual abortion, I had to humble myself and jump through someone else's hoops. But what if I hadn't had a car? a flexible schedule? been young and insecure? not had insurance? How is it that my freedoms as a citizen do not include being treated civilly and humanely by the medical establishment of my community?
Soon that kind of panic will be (except for girls under 18) a thing of the past. And just in time, too, she says bitterly: the cost of regular birth control pills just went way, way up.
Posted at 11:53 PM
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