Plan B is pretty great. It’s one of those things that probably makes a lot of women say, “Wow. Whoever invented this stuff, I want to thank them.” But, in all seriousness, emergency contraception has played a significant role in women’s reproductive freedom. And in a time when many women’s reproductive freedom is at risk depending on where you are, knowing that Plan B is at the nearest CVS means a lot.
But everyone knows Plan B. And most people understand that while it is great, it’s inaccessible to a lot of people, largely due to the price tag. What a lot of people don’t know about Plan B, though, is that it’s a lot more inaccessible than many may think. That’s because it’s pretty ineffective if you have a high BMI or weigh over 175 lbs.
It’s crucial that we think about Plan B as an intersectional issue. If you don’t have a disposable income, you don’t have access to emergency contraception. If you weigh more than 175 lbs, you don’t have access to emergency contraception. That’s a huge portion of the population that doesn’t get to use this incredibly liberating medication, not to mention the geographical intersection of this issue; many people can’t get Plan B simply because of where they live.
To focus in on the weight issue, though, there’s a huge awareness problem. Obviously, Plan B has no reason to advertise the fact that their product won’t work for so many people. So whose responsibility is it to make that fact known? How does such a fact get made more known?
Well, as a starting point, we need to start having more conversations about it. Discussions about emergency contraception and access to it must be intersectional; as many voices as possible need to be included in such discussions. It is imperative that though I wouldn’t have to worry about Plan B’s effectiveness if I ever needed it, as a woman I have to care about the many, many others who do have to worry. Some women don’t deserve access to emergency contraception any more than other women. This issue needs to become more of a priority because, well, if designer babies and pictures of black holes are real, shouldn’t we be able to create emergency contraception for all women?