Over the weekend, I got an urgent letter from a lady who thinks she might be knocked-up. Here’s what she wrote:

“My boyfriend always pulls out when we’re having sex. He’s usually super reliable, but last night he slipped up and came inside me. I freaked at him, but then this morning I got my period, thank god. So I’m in the clear, right?”

Um, sorry hot stuff, the answer is no. You can get preggers even during your period. I know, it sucks, but that’s why I’m urgently answering your email. Lucky for you, there’s the morning-after pill (aka, Plan B). It’s an over-the-counter miracle! By preventing conception, it stops you from having to answer that existential question: Should I be a mom, right now?

• Tony Romo reportedly broke up with girlfriend Jessica Simpson last Thursday, the night before her 29th birthday. [People] —Ouch!
• HBO is developing a new drama series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. The series will trace the life, family history, and complicated sexual identity of character Cal Stephanides, a hermaphrodite. [Broadcasting Cable]—Hopefully the series will do the (great) novel justice.
• Scarlett Johansson is the new face of the clothing line, Mango. According to the company, Johansson embodies the ideal Mango woman—“chic, independent, and cosmopolitan.” [Just Jared]

Last week, Plan B was approved for over-the-counter status in Canada. Canada is now the fifth country to allow women to purchase Plan B without a prescription or a consultation with a pharmacist. In other words, Plan B will be available on Canadian drug-store shelves, no questions asked.

Yesterday, a federal judge ordered the FDA to make the Plan B morning-after birth control pill available without a prescription to women 17 and up. In a very crime show-sounding ruling, the court said, “The FDA repeatedly and unreasonably delayed issuing a decision on Plan B for suspect reasons.” How sordid! Apparently, the FDA only considered a petition about Plan B when Congress threatened to hold up FDA commissioners’ confirmation hearings. And, the FDA ignored it’s own advisory panel and scientists, who found that Plan B could be safely used by 17-year-olds. Keep reading for five things you should know about the morning-after pill, no matter what your age. [NY Times, Reuters]

The Bush Administration’s new reproductive health proposal is out and it’s getting some serious heat. In the proposal, recipients of federal aid for health programs (i.e. hospitals, health clinics, and phamacies) must “certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control.” In other words, a women’s clinic cannot refuse to hire a nurse on the basis that she won’t perform abortions or dispense birth control or Plan B. Additionally, the proposal also classifies abortion as “any of the various procedures—including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action—that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.” Made my head hurt too, but the last part is important—some people argue that the birth control pill and emergency contraception can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg, therefore those forms of birth control and Plan B would be considered abortion under the proposal. So what do you think about this? Are you worried that the language in this proposal is a step in the direction of reversing Roe V. Wade or do you agree that abortion has been defined properly? Weigh in! [Salon: Broadsheet]

Births to teenagers are rising (435,000 babies were born to mothers between 15 and 19 years old in 2006, the first increase in nearly 15 years). Since government funded abstinence-only education doesn’t contribute much to teens’ knowledge about sex, STDs, and pregnancy, they can either get the information from their parents or pop culture. And because most parents have a hard time broaching the subject, pop culture it is. The things is, movies and TV shows aren’t doing their part when it comes to educating young women about their options. And, no, we’re not talking about abortion. As we wrote earlier, a small study showed that many young women haven’t even heard of Plan B, and they definitely don’t know how to get it. Below, a few examples of cases where Hollywood skipped over Plan B this year, limiting teen girls’ options to keeping the baby, putting it up for adoption, or having an abortion.

Some sex-ed teachers don’t seem to be doing their jobs very well, especially when it comes to teaching young women about emergency contraception. According to a small study of 30 English-speaking black girls between 15 and 19 years old, 94 percent of those who are sexually active said they had at least heard of the morning-after pill, but 40 percent of them were unable to answer follow-up questions about how the pills work. Among the girls who were not sexually active—14 in total—50 percent had never heard of the morning-after pill. Only four of the girls who had heard of it know when to use it and how to obtain it, and just seven girls had heard of the non-prescription, brand-name emergency contraceptive Plan B. [Reuters]

After nine years at Brooklyn’s New York Methodist Hospital, OBGYN Josine Veca has seen it all. Here she gives The Frisky her diagnosis of what women want when they stop by.

What are common concerns for women when they come to see you?
It varies by age group. Younger patients, 30 and below, are usually concerned with STDs, birth control, or, if not, trying to prevent pregnancy. As the women get older and are approaching menopause, they’re worried about hot flashes, irregular periods, and symptoms that may be unusual. I’d estimate that 30 to 40 percent are concerned with a mixture of those issues.

How much prying do you have to do or do most women come in with their own specific questions?
A lot of women who come in with their own questions are very comfortable talking about sex. But if they don’t, the subject usually comes up when I’m interviewing them. At first they may be tentative, but the idea is to open communication

What’s especially genius about The Onion‘s mock-up of “Plan C,” the Morning After the Morning After Pill, is that we’re not entirely sure that the anti-choice movement isn’t looking to create something similar. Anyway, hypothetical question: Would the Morning After Pill work if you took it after the Morning After the Morning After Pill? [The Onion]