To the Editor:

Nicholas D. Kristof (“Beyond Chastity Belts,” column, May 2) is right that the vast majority of Americans wants their lawmakers to support common-sense efforts to prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion.

The Putting Prevention First Act, co-sponsored by Senators Harry Reid and Hillary Rodham Clinton (who have different views on a woman’s right to choose), includes the specific goals Mr. Kristof cites as ways to prevent unintended pregnancies: improved access to birth control, including Plan B; accurate, age-appropriate sex education; and family-planning services for those without health insurance.

Anti-choice politicians in Congress continue to block legislation like Prevention First, in much the same way that Bush political appointees obstructed Plan B at the F.D.A.

Before November, voters must start asking candidates where they stand on prevention. Elections are the best way to end the hypocritical, ineffective policies that Mr. Kristof exposed.

Nancy Keenan
Pres., Naral Pro-Choice America
Washington, May 2, 2006

•To the Editor:

Nicholas D. Kristof sets up a straw man. Those who oppose use of the emergency contraceptive Plan B do so primarily because they think that it causes abortion, not because it will lead to increased promiscuity.

The drug works by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, and many believe that a valuable human life exists from the moment the sperm and egg genomes combine.

Mr. Kristof may not share this view, but he should acknowledge it as the main reason given by those who oppose the drug. They do not think that abortions can be prevented by a drug that causes abortions.

Anne M. Farrell
Decatur, Ga., May 2, 2006

•To the Editor:

Nicholas D. Kristof makes solid arguments for over-the-counter access to Plan B, arguments that cannot rationally be countered by anyone who works with teenagers and understands the frequent lack of preparation for an initial sexual encounter.

Rather than wait for a request for Plan B, I offer a packet or prescription to all teenagers and women who are not using contraception regularly.

It is imperative that all health care providers make teenagers aware of the existence of Plan B and make it accessible to them even before they start engaging in sexual activity.

Nancey Rosensweig
New York, May 2, 2006
The writer is a nurse midwife.

•To the Editor:

Nicholas D. Kristof advocates the “morning after pill” as a remedy for the high abortion rate. Does he understand how this pill works? It may be an abortifacient and certainly poses health risks.

Please show real concern for young women. Reliance on these pills will not prevent sexually transmitted diseases and could lead to the exploitation of those high school students who heed society’s message that “everybody’s doing it” and that there are no consequences.

Patricia Brezosky
New City, N.Y., May 2, 2006

•To the Editor:

We tell people not to speed, Nicholas D. Kristof says, but equip cars with air bags in case they do. So what’s wrong with telling kids not to have sex, but making Plan B available in case they do?

There is nothing intrinsically harmful about driving fast; it is the potential consequences (an accident) that are bad and must be protected against. But with teenage sex, the real harm is in the act itself; if pregnancy results, it may be inconvenient, but it is not intrinsically evil.

I know how damaging early, uncommitted sex can be to a young woman’s sense of self. I came of age in the era of “make love, not war,” and although I avoided unintended pregnancy and disease, the decades since have impressed upon me the invidious and slow-healing effects of my youthful behavior.

It’s the sex itself we must protect teenagers against. And that is something Plan B can never do.

Susan Beck
Milford, Conn., May 4, 2006