Based on a federal court ruling last month, the age to obtain Plan B without a prescription will soon be lowered from 18 to 17 years old. The verdict was reached as the result of a lawsuit against the F.D.A., which stated that the previous policy was formed based on inappropriate concessions to conservative lobbyists in the Bush administration.

While most Cornell women are already over 17, the ruling will still have an effect on the climate in which they receive contraceptives, particularly Plan B. While Plan B is currently available to students without a prescription, it must be distributed by a pharmacist — an obstacle that can be daunting for many women. The recent ruling included a recommendation that this protocol be reversed, in order to allow all women to obtain Plan B as quickly and anonymously as possible.

The court’s ruling comes on the heels of other laudable changes to birth control policy under the Obama administration, notably the reversal of the global gag rule that denied funding to programs providing abortions and the reinstating of Medicaid exemptions that reduce the cost of birth control for the uninsured.

With the United States currently boasting one of the highest abortion rates among developed nations, these changes represent an accurate response to the dire need for more comprehensive and available birth control methods.

The president’s approach to these changes has been refreshingly non-incendiary. Rather than change the global gag order on abortion with fanfare on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a selling point for many past administrations, Obama did so quietly the day after. This move, in addition to his nomination of aisle-straddling Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, suggests a trend toward putting women’s sexual health first, beyond partisan sniping.

Within the bubble of Cornell, we live among many who assume that birth control and emergency contraceptives should — and will — always be available widely, cheaply and sans stigma. Yet in many communities, the services provided by Gannett are too often the exception, as opposed to the norm.

Many students entering an unsure work climate may find themselves suddenly at the mercy of Medicaid policies when buying birth control, or faced with obtaining Plan B in a community less accepting of their sexual choices. These policies will also dictate the United States’ ability to provide sexual health aid in developing countries.

If anything, the cushion provided by Cornell’s sexual health services should provide us the freedom to educate ourselves about and participate in discussions of wider-reaching sexual health policies. All too frequently, reproductive debates degenerate into overly-politicized shouting matches. Instead, let’s look to these changes and the new administration’s handling of them, as a starting point for a more rational forum — one that values our bodies above our political agendas.