The feds made a lot of assumptions -- based on zero science or sociology -- about teens and young women gone wild if given unfettered access to the Plan B morning-after pill.

Finally, under pressure, they listened to reason, approving over-the-counter sales.

Next, rationality trumped ideology at the Washington State Pharmacy Board when, just over a week ago, the white coats compromised on a previous ruling that would have held the pills hostage to any given pharmacist's personal objections.

Now the pills won't exactly be "over the counter" but more like behind the counter until a customer proves she is 18 or over. But at least it's a stride toward sanity.

Still, in three years of bloviation over the needs and behaviors of "kids," did anyone bother asking the "kids" themselves?

"The idea of access to Plan B causing promiscuous sex is total b.s.," says recent Seattle high school grad Meryl Roepke, 18, who already has racked up miles on the road to dispelling myths by working with Teens for Choice and by lobbying in Olympia.

Initially she was "ecstatic" about the decisions mentioned above -- that is, until the part about "over the age of 18" hit her with a thud.

Like a lot of reasonable people, Roepke figures that it's people under the age of 18 who are least able to handle unplanned pregnancies, abortions, the physical toll of birth, or the responsibility of raising children. So they're the ones we ought to be helping most with emergency contraception. It seems to her a contradiction to say that we want to lower the teen pregnancy rate but we're not going to give them access to prevention.

She also thinks that Plan A ought to be a healthy dose of practical sex education to keep young people from needing Plan B in the first place.