Posted on 08/20/2011 1:53:21 PM PDT by wagglebee
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve been asked what my stance is on contraception. It’s not breaking news that many oral contraceptives and some invasive barrier methods (IUD) have been proven to cause abortion, including the highly controversial ella and Plan B drugs, and I stand firmly against the use of anything that destroys a life created at conception. But what about contraception that prevents conception from taking place?
I’m not the only one who has gotten this question; people want to know how the pro-life movement as a whole feels about this.
In fact, the medical students we reach out to face this question on a daily basis.
This question is a hard one to answer, which is why many avoid it: What is the pro-life movement’s stance on contraception, including methods that prevent conception?
As a physician, what is the right decision to make when a woman asks for birth control? What if she is living below the poverty line, has 3 or 4 children, hasn’t obtained a high-school diploma, and is co-habiting with a man who needs to support her financially? Presumably, she’s aware of the possibility of pregnancy and could be afraid of how she will feed and clothe another child.
What do you say? What’s the pragmatic response here?
Here’s how I think that conversation should be started:
1) Birth Control, no matter what form, doesn’t prevent abortions. In fact, it provides a false sense of security.
The Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s own research arm, released study showing that condoms fail 14% of the time. That’s enough to provide some concern, especially when coupled with the Guttmacher’s own numbers showing that over half of all abortions are on women who were using some method of birth control. This is a cry in the face of pro-abortion propaganda claiming that if women had better access to birth control, abortions would become unnecessary.
Well, clearly not.
Contraception gives women a false sense of security, and condoms and birth control clearly can’t be relied on as a fail-proof method of stopping a pregnancy from occurring.
2) Birth control comes with it’s own complications and risks. It some cases, it’s deadly for both the child and mother.
Aside from condoms, oral and invasive methods of birth control come with their own complications. In addition to blood clots and strokes, chemical contraceptives have been proven to end the life of a preborn human mere hours or days after conception by thinning the uterine lining and making implantation more difficult for the developing person. Invasive methods that are implanted into your upper arm or uterus come with the same set of risks to both the mother and child. The most common form of hormonal contraception, the pill, has been categorized by the World Health Organization as a Group I carcinogen. That’s the highest possible ranking; cigarettes are also Group I.
One only has to read the inserts that come with chemical contraception, listen to commercials for hormonal birth control that spew out a long list of side effects, or glance at Facebook ads calling for women who took Yaz birth control pills to contact a law firm to join the lawsuit (google Yaz and lawsuit!) to grasp the unbelievable amount of life-altering consequences of imbibing hormonal birth control.
3) Condoms and birth control are everywhere. You can obtain them for free, yet the abortion and STD rate hasn’t fallen.
Planned Parenthood and county health departments have been giving out free condoms and birth control for years. Yet, the unplanned pregnancy, abortion, and STD rate in America has failed to fall and, in the case of STDs, has significantly increased. Despite this evidence, the Obama Administration just issued a new ruling forcing all health insurance plans to cover birth control with no deductible.
What’s even more scary is that Planned Parenthood knows this. They actually rely on the failure of the contraception they provide to increase their abortion profits.
4) Finally, and most importantly, birth control – in any form – is a Band-Aid.
It seems like the best way to answer the question regarding the pro-life stance on contraception is to emphasize helping women as a whole instead of handing out a temporary “fix”.
Dolling out free condoms isn’t social justice. Handing over a pack of pills to an uneducated mother living in poverty with a man who doesn’t respect her enough to marry her isn’t restoring proper relationships in her life. At the end of the day, what have you accomplished? You’ve just acknowledged her tragic situation by implying, “I don’t know how to help you”, or, “I don’t have time to help you, but here, use these and hope for the best.”
Protecting women from the scarring trauma of abortion and repairing broken relationships in her life seem to be the best way the pro-life movement can restore true social justice – Christian justice – to this woman’s life.
These are my thoughts on how we can make a real impact, but the pro-life movement needs to come together and agree on one answer to this question. Unity will only help us protect more women and the pre-born from the injustice of abortion.
Post statistics backing your assertion with a link.
You wrote:
“Post statistics backing your assertion with a link.”
Nope. I’ve done all that before. Since I am not the one ill-informed, maybe you should do the research as I once did.
About what? The IUD, married couples? Be specific.
Not sure I buy this BUT I will say a truly pro-life physician, where there is this much cintroversy, should err on the side of life & not be prescribing BCPs. Otherwise one’s claim of “pro-life” is flimsy.
You made the statement. It is up to you to back it up.
The poster, vladimir998, made a statement to you and I asked for a cite. Since the post was to you, I included you in the ping.
You wrote:
“You made the statement. It is up to you to back it up.”
Nope. Since I have already shown all of this in the past I need not lift a finger now. It is up to you to do some research since you’re ignorant about the subject.
Have a nice day.
Since I’m pushing 60, I really DO doubt these people are trying to get in my bedroom.
As someone who grew up in the dark ages of the sexual revolution, I’m pretty bitter about all the “let’s make love, not war” types. I wish I had met a few friends from FR in those days - people who would tell me you didn’t have to please a man to find happiness or love.
I also remember the bad side effects of the early Pill and the IUD - which basically ripped women’s insides to pieces. I, personally, think these are misogynistic developments by selfish men who refused - and still refuse - to take a responsible attitude towards sex.
First, what are you talking about? And I won’t go researching something I’ve already researched. You do that and post it here. Then maybe I’ll be persuaded to your point of view. But I don’t even know what you’re referring to, lol!
Again.......I was addressing a post made to you and included you in the ping as a courtesy.
You wrote:
“Then your post bears no weight.”
Actually it does. I just looked up the figures and, of course, I was right. I just think libs like you need to start doing actual research rather than constantly depending on others to help you.
I made several posts. This is the third time I’ll ask you and then I’m going to refuse to deal with you: what specifically are you referring to? This is not difficult.
Do you know what a “courtesy ping” is?
No, I don’t. Now leave me alone, you big silly.
You have a nice day.
I have better things to do than exchange barbs with a poster that refuses to prove their assertions.
Your cause, man, not "the cause." If this is where being against abortion leads, you have just pounded the last nail in the conservative coffin. Conservatism is now officially dead. It cannot survive having this kind of backward ignorance on our side.
This has nothing to do with getting the government out of our lives. Go join the liberals. You are much more in their spirit of running peoples lives. You have a plan. They have a plan. You don't get it. We cannot survive central planning, whether in God's name or in Satan's name or Mao's name. It all leads to the same death of freedom and personal responsibility.
Good grief this country is so screwed.
Well, it only took 4 or 5 posts for you to clear that up!
The only thing to do with doltish Talibani's like you is call you names until you examine your own ignorant godless souless self. WTF are you talking about? Surely you are a Reid plan. No one who can string a sentance together is this dumb. You sound like one of those computer random sentence generators, it is grammatical, sort of, but conotes nonsense.
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