Dr. Mays: Teens Deserve Access to Plan B

December 4, 2012

Leadership Training Academy Fellow Aisha Mays, MD, published a letter in the San Francisco Chronicle in support of improving teens' access to emergency contraception. Dr. Mays, who treats adolescents in a school-based health center, noted that age limits and stigma can create unfair barriers for teens: "I had a 16-year-old patient come into the clinic crying and worried about being pregnant because she could not get Plan B [emergency contraception] over the weekend...because she was under the age of 17. I also have patients 17 and older who are regularly denied Plan B at the pharmacy because of the pharmacist's personal beliefs.... Teens of any age should have access to medical care when they need it." Dr. Mays' letter is the third on the page.