The American Academy of Pediatricians says doctors should prescribe emergency contraceptives for teens, even before they're sexually active.

The group released a new position paper saying drugs like Plan B should be made available to those under 17 years old. The paper will be published in the December's Pediatrics and was posted online this week.

It says giving the pills to children before they start having sex could reduce the number of teen pregnancies and even opens the door to talking with them about abstinence.

The AAP paper said many pediatricians don't prescribe emergency contraceptives ahead of time, possibly because they don't want teens to become sexually active.

Pro-life advocates say drugs like Plan B can cause an abortion.