Jackson Free Press

In honor of this week's dead fetus parades and other displays of flaming religious hypocrisy, I would like to provide the women in this forum with some information they may, or may not, find helpful.

Since our government is so remiss in educating our young women and girls in the uses of emergency contraception, go here and read until your heart's delight.

This is an educational site put together by some women at Princeton in conjunction with the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. It will answer any question you've ever had about emergency contraception...and then it will tell you what birth control pills (that you might already have a script for and be taking) can be used for emergency contraception and the correct dose in which to take it. This is the information that most women do not have. EC is just large doses of regular monthly BC pills. That's all it is. If you take the pill, you might actually have EC in your house and not know it. (the religious right just pissed their pants)

Tell your mothers, tell your sisters, tell your friends, tell anyone you think might need this information. If they have any questions, I can't promise to answer them but I can point them in the direction of someone that can.

Please feel free to wander around the site and look at the FAQs. Its a good, informative, no-nonsense site that's strictly about EC, the effects, the doses, and whatever else a woman might need to know in order to take charge of her reproductive health.

I'm tired of the men doing it for us.

Previous Comments

ID

107141

Comment

All right, so-called "pro-lifers," now it's on. Operation Save America has done more to make this city pro-choice than any number of rallies and awareness-raising efforts could ever have accomplished. If you think abortion should be illegal, move to Ireland, because we've had enough. Women like our own Ali Greggs are going to help get women the information they need to make healthy choices for their bodies and their lives, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. You cannot stop the morning after pill because you lost the battle on birth control long ago. March with your mangled, lying posters of mangled fetuses. Soon, the very possibility of ending legal abortion in America will fade away, and y'all will be left with burning Korans and gay pride flags. But don't worry: gay marriage will soon be legal too. You will lose.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-07-21T15:15:49-06:00

ID

107142

Comment

Yes, abortion is illegal in Ireland...but did you know they have floating clinics on peirs that sit right off the coastline so that they are still available to women? Where there is a will, a way will be found.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-21T15:17:28-06:00

ID

107143

Comment

Tell 'em, girl.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-21T19:48:18-06:00

ID

107144

Comment

Like I said on another thread, I'm pro-choice. But have you ever wondered how many of those aborted fetuses may have grown up to be the scientist that cured cancer, or the next Shakespeare or the next whatever? Just a thought from a man on a Friday night.

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-07-21T21:44:34-06:00

ID

107145

Comment

Jim-You are woefully uneducated as to what EC is. If taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex it PREVENTS a pregnancy. It will not abort a pregnancy. This is the problem that I find with most people..t.hey just aren't educated as to what the "morning after pill" or EC actually is. (if you would have read the link you would have learned) It aborts NOTHING. In fact, if a pregnancy has already occured (if someone took the pills too late) it won't even abort a pregnancy. But, if taken within 3-4 days of unprotected sex it PREVENTS them. So, there are no aborted fetuses in this thread. Go find your genius somewhere else.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T01:56:57-06:00

ID

107146

Comment

One more thing...the clinic on State St. that is being horribly picketed right now? Well, if you do not have a script for birth control pills that can be used for emergency contraception please call them. A doc there will give you a script and the clinic has the pills. They will provide both of them for you with just a phone call. The charge 30-40$. They do this everyday but Saturday. On Saturday you must call before noon.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T02:01:04-06:00

ID

107147

Comment

And, just for sh1ts and giggles, I'll go into the really fun science of this so that everyone can FULLY understand a woman's reproductive system. There are approximately three days a month a woman can get pregnant. These three days are about 14 days after the onset of her period. If unprotected sex occurs during this time, there is about a 50% chance a pregnancy will occur. About half of all pregnancies spontaneously abort within the first three weeks. (Looks like God's prochoice, huh kids?) Now, when those little swimmers meet an egg and bust their way through, it takes almost a week for that egg to implant itself into the uterus and become a "pregnancy". Now, what EC does....well, it does different things at different times. If taken at certain times it can prevent the ovulation from actually occuring in the first place. At other times it prevents the egg from being implanted. This is NOT AN ABORTION. This is stopping a pregnancy before it starts. That is why one only has 3-4 days after unprotected sex when EC is effective. Just wanted to be extremely clear to everyone reading how this works.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T02:13:38-06:00

ID

107148

Comment

Ali writes: One more thing...the clinic on State St. that is being horribly picketed right now? Well, if you do not have a script for birth control pills that can be used for emergency contraception please call them ... A doc there will give you a script and the clinic has the pills. They will provide both of them for you with just a phone call. One more case where we evil pro-choicers are actually reducing the number of abortions, and where those good and deeply honest pro-lifers are forcing women to have them by making EC harder to access. Thanks for this, Ali. This thread rocks. I'm going to email the Princeton site to be sure they list JWHO, because the nearest location they list for EC is the Planned Parenthood clinic way the heck over in Hattiesburg. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-07-22T02:21:55-06:00

ID

107149

Comment

Thanks, Tom. I'm just tired and I don't think our girls have enough real information about this subject.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T02:23:20-06:00

ID

107150

Comment

Sorry Ali. I should have read this thread more carefully before I posted my comment. I know what EC is and understand the difference. That's what I get for posting comments when I'm under the influence of NyQuil.

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-07-22T08:56:45-06:00

ID

107151

Comment

Agreed, Ali. There's some deliberate misinformation going out from the other side, which is why I tend to go easy on people who conflate Plan B and RU-486. Because that's what they're Supposed To Do, and it's working quite well for the other side. Fortunately, it's only a matter of time before sheer demand for Plan B makes the status quo--where pharmacies don't stock it because there's "not enough demand," and so forth--untenable. The one thing I can sit comfortably back on in all this, the one thing I can have faith in, is that regardless of what the government does, most people have sex and most women don't want to get pregnant from it right now and most men don't want to get their significant others pregnant from it right now. The folks on the other side have to fight some pretty basic biological urges to get their way, and "don't have sex until I say go" is never going to fly in the broader culture. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-07-22T09:04:47-06:00

ID

107152

Comment

Jim-Weren't you under the influence of Nyquil last weekend as well? Is there something you need to talk about? We are all here for you, man. We can help you step away from the Nyquil and reclaim your life. ;) Tom-This entire thread was in response to something the H. D. Bun Matsters from Over There said about the "morning after pill" that was patently untrue.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T09:41:02-06:00

ID

107153

Comment

Jim-one more thing. I actually want to thank you for what you asked because it allowed me to explain some things people might not have read on the original link. :)

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T09:42:05-06:00

ID

107154

Comment

Ali, this is GREAT STUFF! thank you. We need this info out there and easy to access. thank you, girlfriend. keep it up.

Author

Izzy

Date

2006-07-22T09:53:05-06:00

ID

107155

Comment

Ali, Actually, I really don't like taking NyQuil. My sinuses have just been really bad this past week. NyQuil is about the only thing that helps my sinus headaches. Hopefully the slightly cooler weather this next week will help my sinuses and I can put the nyquil away. But thanks for your concern! :-)

Author

James Hester

Date

2006-07-22T09:53:58-06:00

ID

107156

Comment

And, ONE MORE THING, ;) I found this on the article and think its a great solution to the availablity of EC. If a woman asks her gyno for a prescription for one of the BC pills that can be used as EC (even if she doesn't take the pill) this will eliminate the need to "quickly" see a doctor if unprotected sex occurs. She can just get her script filled and look for appropriate doses on the EC website. Example: I take Aviane. This is one of the pills that is acceptable to use as emergency contraception. I get my gyno to write a script during my yearly visit for 12 refills. Even if I'm not going to be "on" the pill. If I had unprotected sex and needed Emergency contraception I would only have to drive to Walgreens, get my pills filled (for 30$ that my insurance doesn't cover because they CAN be used for EC-but that's an entirely different thread) and take five of the pills within 72 hours of the unprotected sex and then take five more 12 hours later. They have been shown to be effective up to five days after unprotected sex occurs and also if all ten pills are taken at the same time, twelve hours apart, or 24 hours apart. Of course, the longer you wait the more their ability to protect you lowers. Now, that "five pill" dose isn't for ALL birth control pills. I actually got that dosage off that site I listed above. Which is why its such a great site. Most new BC pills can be used effectively as EC. Some just have different doses depending upon the hormones that are contained in the certain pills. I really dislike how this topic has been muddied in the Pro-Life fight. It is a very simple and straight forward way to prevent a pregnancy in the event of unprotected sex. Now class, who's ready for a pop quiz? ;) (Laurel-I LOVE sh1t like this. Nothing pisses the Radical Pro-Lifers off like correct information with no moral judgement attached.)

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-22T10:51:41-06:00

ID

107157

Comment

It gets worse, Tom. I see a pattern here similar to the original release of Fahrenheit 9/11 http://ec.princeton.edu/gis/ It's available in cities in the region of similar size to Jackson, but not Jackson (Shreveport, Little Rock, Baton Rouge, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Pensacola, and so forth). Furthermore, it's availiable all over rural areas in bothEast and west Texas!!! (not exactly known as a wicked den of iniquity in the eyes of the religious right). Still more bad news. A good way to see where Mississippi stands in relation to the rest of the nation is to look at Iowa. Both states have similar population and land area. Both states have similar urban-rural population distributions. Both its largest (and 2nd largest) metro areas are of similar size (Jackson almost exactly matches Des Moines; The "Quad Cities" similarly match the Miss GC). Yet, the pill's available all over Iowa, but only in a tiny handful of places in Mississippi. Virtually the same story with Arkansas. Similarly, you can see where Louisiana (and to an extent, Alabama too) stands by comparing it to Wisconsin (New Orleans and Milwaukee are of similar size - pre-Katrina, at least. Madison-Baton Rouge [both capital cities and college towns about 80 miles from the state's largest city]. Appleton-Oshkosh-Green Bay comparable to Shreveport, etc). Yet, Louisiana and Alabama are not in much better shape than MS and AR once size adjustments are taken into account.

Author

Philip

Date

2006-07-22T12:31:03-06:00

ID

107158

Comment

P.S. BTW, Take a look at rural Texas again, and consider that East Texas is in many ways the western-most edge of the Deep South while West Texas, though not really Deep South, still has a lot of cultural characteristics similar to the Deep South. This part of the state was not settled by whites until after the Civil War, but even so, the values and attitudes are similar enough to me to say of West Texas "Imagine Mississippi covered with sagebrush, oil wells, and cattle ranches"

Author

Philip

Date

2006-07-22T12:36:49-06:00

ID

107159

Comment

Agreed, Ali. There's some deliberate misinformation going out from the other side, which is why I tend to go easy on people who conflate Plan B and RU-486. What's the difference between Plan B and RU-486? Just curious.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-07-22T18:07:07-06:00

ID

107160

Comment

Glad you asked, Latasha! Thanks. Plan B prevents pregnancies from taking place if taken within 3-5 days after sexual intercourse. It is nothing more than an extremely high dose of birth control pills that prevents fertilization, or flushes out the fertilized egg before it is implanted in the uterus. RU-486 aborts pregnancies for up to 64 days. The former, IMHO, should be available over the counter everywhere, and would be if we had a less conservative president. (The FDA is holding up approval of Plan B for over the counter use for political reasons.) RU-486 should not be available without a prescription. And a BTW to Ali: I brought some condoms home from the march/rally today. Yes, Tom friggin' Head now has condoms. And has been to two bars this week. Listening to Flip Benham for hours on end has made me question how much of my attitude about alcohol and sexuality is nothing more than warmed-over leftovers from my semiconservative Baptist-Methodist upbringing. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-07-22T18:57:17-06:00

ID

107161

Comment

Tom Head said: [quote]And a BTW to Ali: I brought some condoms home from the march/rally today. Yes, Tom friggin' Head now has condoms.[/quote] Dude! You're a party waiting to happen! The pick-up line could probably use a little more finesse, but whatever works for you... 8-)

Author

Rico

Date

2006-07-22T19:56:50-06:00

ID

107162

Comment

LOL! That wasn't exactly what I meant, but something tells me I'm never going to live this one down... Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-07-22T21:48:11-06:00

ID

107163

Comment

Ali, maybe if women discontinued having sex with men altogether, things might change. Why should women have sex if they are unable to choose their form of birth control? Why is it that more money spent on viagra than on ec/birth control? Think about it. We gave out condoms-male/female versions, to all of the march attendees. Everyone was safe sexing this weekend. As it should b e EVERY weekend....

Author

Jackson Area NOW

Date

2006-07-26T14:36:07-06:00

ID

107164

Comment

Jackson Area NOW writes: Why is it that more money spent on viagra than on ec/birth control? Think about it. I wish I had to think about it, but I already know the answer. It's the same reason why these wonderful pharmacists who refuse to prescribe EC have no such concerns about weenie pills, and why health insurance plans cover said weenie pills but refuse to cover birth control pills. It's a man's, man's, man's, man's, man's world. The "condom" business with Ali was a continuation of a recurring theme in our discussions--my relative social conservatism in the way I live my day-to-day life, and the way that sometimes meshes up in a funny way with my liberalism about how other people live their day to day lives. The punchline isn't that Tom Head has unprotected sex; the punchline is that Tom Head keeps it zipped altogether because he's Saving Himself for Ms. Right (tm). Taking the condoms and going to actual bars (for the first time in my life) was a nice symbolic gesture indicating which world I plan to live in, regardless of how dull my own lifestyle might be. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-07-26T15:37:29-06:00

ID

107165

Comment

What's going on here?

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-08-02T22:52:00-06:00

ID

107166

Comment

What a pathetic display. That was your attempt at engaging the issues, twixter/hess? A blog is like the public square, but cowards abuse it. You would not go into the town square and act so shamefully, would you? And you are not even a noteworthy troll. Most are ambitious enough to waste two weeks of everyone's time while they pretend to debate. Inevitably, the transformation takes them, and they sprout those coarse black hairs. Finally, your grammar is a disgrace. Learn how to type.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-08-02T23:01:22-06:00

ID

107167

Comment

I love it when a troll comes on here behaving in a bossy and obnoxious way, but is so illucid that you can't even tell what s/he is trying to troll about in the first place. Was twixter offended by the column? Did twixter completely agree with the column? Who knows; twixter forgot that part and skipped right ahead to the temper tantrum. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-02T23:06:03-06:00

ID

107168

Comment

Oh, and as for the question... twixter writes: What do you think is the most important freedom? ...I'd say it's probably the freedom to ignore Internet trolls. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-02T23:08:05-06:00

ID

107169

Comment

Yes, I don't even know what he's talking about. But, I do know that its probably Bonnadrag.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-08-02T23:08:17-06:00

ID

107170

Comment

Sounds like a safe assumption to me! Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-02T23:15:17-06:00

ID

107171

Comment

Alright, Hesse. Bring. It.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-08-03T21:38:43-06:00