Plan-B "risky" for 17-year-olds, according to some guy on Headline News

This plastic looking guy wants you to know that it's unsafe for 17-year-olds to be able to get the morning after pill (Plan B) without a prescription or parent involvement. His points are as follows:

1. Plan B is more powerful than regular birth control pills, which need a prescription.

> Well, yes, it is more powerful than regular birth control pills, but a prescription probably isn't really necessary for regular birth control, because they are quite safe. Some have argued for requiring prescriptions for birth control, just to encourage sexually active women to have regular pap smears. Even though these are often "bundled," there's no actual requirement to do a pap smear prior to giving a prescription for birth control. Moreover, other countries, including England, allow women to purchase birth control over the counter, with no problems.

2. Plan B must be taken within 72 hours for full effectiveness, but he doesn't buy the argument that getting a prescription would cause unnecessary delays. "Does it really take that long to get a prescription?"

> YES! Here are some examples. A Northern California general practitioners group has an average wait of 55 days to see a doctor. For those of you counting, that's 1320 hours, which is more than 72 hours. Even truly sick people have long waits--the worst, in fact, compared to peer nations. 30% of sicker adults (those with histories of serious illness) have to wait longer than a day to see a physician. Sure, some girls would be able to get a prescription within the window, but a lot of girls wouldn't.

3. We're enabling teenagers to act carelessly.

> He admits that teenagers DO act carelessly: "Teenagers are known for thinking they're untouchable." Yes, teenagers act carelessly. If we're lucky, they have an "Oh shit!" moment, go get the morning after pill, and hopefully do not create a new life to ruin. It would be lovely if those dummies would just think before they acted, but again, "teenagers are known for thinking they're untouchable."

4. 17-year-old boys will pressure their 17-year-old girlfriends into having unprotected sex, promising to get the morning-after pill the next day.

>Well, this is really just the same argument as #3. I don't think boys pressuring girls to have sex is a new invention. I think a lot of girls (and boys probably...girls can pressure for sex too!) have heard, "Don't worry about it baby, I'll pull out." Now when he says that, they have sex, and then she wakes up regretting it, at least she can go get a pill.

5. 17-year-old high school students can and will get the pill for their 15-year-old friends.

>I don't get this argument. 18-year-olds can ALREADY get Plan B without a prescription. You don't magically graduate when you turn 18, nor do you usually forget everyone in high school when you go to college. (OK, sometimes the latter is true.) Yes, a 17-year-old senior can give her sophomore friend the pill, but so can an 18-year-old senior.