One can wonder all sorts of things. I, for example, wonder whether people who use the “one wonders” construction for their nasty, fascistic little views think that anyone is fooled as to their general character.

Plan B® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg). Plan B® may also work by preventing it from attaching to the uterus (womb). It is important to know that Plan B® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus; it will not affect an existing pregnancy.

The ICCR animal studies that #24 refers to cast doubt on Barr’s claims that Plan B may stop implantation, which is too bad, because if someone ovulated prior to intercourse, standard contraception failed, and fertilization occurred before she took Plan B, then she’ll have to go to RU-486 instead.

But no one addressed the autonomy issues—we’re still in the pro/anti-abortion/contrapception rhetoric zone.

No, absoluteley not. Plan B, or levonorgestrel acts prefertilization and has no effect post-fertilization. That’s why it has to be taken within 72 hours. Many people confuse Plan B with Mifepristone or RU486, which is an anti-progestone with a different mechanism of action.

My understanding is that there’s no evidence for this either way.

For example: http://www.popcouncil.org/publications/popbriefs/pb11(2)_3.html

(Re the ‘abortion pill’ v. contrapception issue, Plan B does not just prevent ovulation and fertilization but it will also function by preventing implantation, so the fertilized egg will go silently screaming away for anti-abortionists).

Was that because they were in the women’s bathrooms? Condom dispensers are extremely common in men’s bathrooms in the US in my experience.

That said, IMO, there should be vending machines with condoms and emergency contraception on street corners.

Actually, as I noted in a comment above, access to the pill is going to require a government ID so that is a way they are going to try to enforce the age restriction.

While it’s possible that people may gain access through older acquaintances, don’t forget that it may not be that easy for a 16-year-old to tell her parents about this. Moreover, timing is an important issue with the pill, and the need for having to look for an older friend won’t help the efficiency of the contraceptive. Plus is it so obvious that in certain communities just any 18-year-old friend would want to take it upon themselves to go and claim the need for this?

One also wonders what kind of political agenda lies behind the use of terms like “abortion pills” to describe a form of contraception.

Just like cigarettes! I’ve never seen 16 year olds smoking.