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BAMPAC is aggressively pursuing our issue advocacy program in the national, regional and local media. As part of that effort, President & CEO Alvin Williams regularly pens opinion and editorial articles that articulate a common sense approach to politics and government. Read the following articles, and check back regularly for new commentary and insight from BAMPAC

 
Whatever Happened to PLAN A?
Alvin Williams

   In a recent ruling, The Food and Drug Administration approved over the counter access to the controversial PLAN B birth control pill for women 18 and over. Prior to this recent decision, PLAN B, otherwise known as the “morning after” pill was only available via prescription. While some view this ruling as only a slight policy shift by the FDA regarding PLAN B, this is a decision that will have momentous ramifications on several levels. Primarily, the message this sends to our youth and society in general is that should you decide to make an irresponsible decision one night, you can go to your local drug store for a solution.
   Increasing accessibility to the so-called “morning-after” pill represent a societal concession of sexual irresponsibility being a norm that cannot be changed. This concession shifts the focus from teaching young people the values necessary for them to make sound decisions to creating additional options to employ once unsound decisions are made. In doing so, we are not taking the time to address the issues that lead youth and young adults to seek the “morning after” pill and other means of terminating pregnancies.

   Rather than following this pattern of creating “options” once unsound decisions are made, it is time that we enact a different approach. This approach, -- our own PLAN A --- starts with instilling values in our young people. Instilling these values will lead to our youth making more informed moral decisions generally and specifically in the matter of sexual activity. This is not as viable an option to many, because it requires a substantial investment of time and energy and the results are not always guaranteed. Values cannot be quickly purchased at the local drug store after an evening of indiscretion; rather values are instilled over time in small dosages that can be administered by parents, teachers, clergy, elders and others.

   As we refocus on PLAN A – it is important to analyze and isolate the factors influencing teens and young adults to be sexually irresponsible.  One area of profound influence on youth and young adults is the entertainment industry.    These images portrayed in music, film and on the Internet have a direct influence on the moral development of our youth and the decisions they make generally and more specifically their sexual decisions.

   Earlier this month, the RAND Corporation released a national study of youth aged 12-17 in which they found that those who listened to a large amount of music with highly sexual content were twice as likely to have sexual intercourse within two years than those who did not. The research suggested that the recurring sexual themes in this music encourages young boys to be relentless in the pursuit of sex and encourages young women to view themselves as sex objects. It is more than likely that similar results would occur if the influence of sexual themes in films, televisions, and the Internet among youth were measured. This leads credence to the idea that we must work to address the issue of the negative influences in film, music, television, and the Internet on our children. Measures such as TV ratings and technological improvements such as the V-chip and parental controls on internet access are a great start, and will work even better when they compliment values and morals being modeled and taught to young people in the home.

   Another aspect of our PLAN A should be additional education on the other risks involved with sexual irresponsibility. The problem with the focus on increasing accessibility to the “morning after” pill is that it does not address the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as potential outcomes of sexual irresponsibility. PLAN B gives a false sense of security to sexually active youth and young adults who only focus on the fact that there is an additional alternative to averting unwanted pregnancies. This sense of security leads them to forget about the other risks associated with sexual irresponsibility, which could yield deadly results.

   In the aftermath of FDA decision regarding PLAN B, it is of the utmost importance that we as a society be equally committed to a different plan of action in regards to encouraging our young people to make sound moral decisions. We must have a PLAN A that instills values and morals while also counteracting the influence of outside sources on our youth. In doing so, we restore the focus on PLAN A – personal responsibility.



Alvin Williams is president and chief executive officer of Black America's Political Action Committee (BAMPAC).
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© BAMPAC 2008
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