Debunking ALLLL the misinformation...
The misinformation about reproductive health is flying fast and furious, these days! I lost several brain cells after watching clips of “alpha bro” podcasts, talking about how number of sexual partners affected vaginal tightness, or making fun of how labia look… And a viral video on TikTok also revealed that a lot of men and women don’t know that there are three holes in female genitalia, and that urine and tampons involve different parts! As always, I tried to turn these videos into an opportunity to educate and reassure people with vulvas and vaginas that variety in bodies is normal, that the number of partners has nothing to do with the size of the vagina, and pee comes out of the urethra, not the vagina. The more you know, folks!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
In more serious news, there were a flurry of articles in the media about a Nurse Practitioner who sued CVS for firing her, because she “refused to fill abortion drug prescriptions”. Unfortunately, she was actually referring to emergency birth control such as Plan B or Ella, NOT the abortion pill. Shockingly, almost every media outlet - the Washington Post, various TV news channels - perpetuated this misinformation in their news coverage, saying that she was fired for refusing to dispense abortion pills.
However, emergency birth control does NOT CAUSE ABORTIONS, it works by preventing ovulation. If conception occurs, and an embryo implants, emergency birth control does NOT induce abortion.
The actual abortion pill, mifepristone or RU-486, which does induce abortions, is NOT usually dispensed by commercial pharmacies like CVS. It is usually provided in a physician’s office, hospital, or by mail, and only by specially credentialled abortion providers. CVS issued a statement stating that they do not provide abortion services, including dispensing of medical abortion pills, but they do ensure access to prescription medications such as birth control and emergency contraception.
I explain these issues in this week’s YouTube video, as well as questions such as:
What are the different types of emergency birth control
When can you take emergency birth control?
What is the effectiveness in preventing pregnancy?
What is misoprostol, and why are some pharmacists refusing to prescribe it?
PLEASE SHARE - as you can see, even healthcare professionals such as nurse practitioners and pharmacists are confusing these issues! The media is also perpetuating this extreme misinformation, and lawmakers are also threatening to take away access to emergency birth control and IUD’s because of the mistaken idea that they cause abortions. Facts are less click-worthy than scandalous headlines, so us Gynecologists are fighting an uphill battle trying to get accurate information out there. But we’re gonna keep on fighting - thank you for joining us!
Have a happy, healthy, and safe Labor Day for those of you in the U.S.!
Dr. Tang