I can’t quite seem to wrap my mind around why ProLifers are up in arms about this.
The panel on Tuesday voted in favor of over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception amid concerns from anti-abortion critics and worries from others that easier access to morning-after pills may increase unsafe sex, particularly among teenagers.
First off, why would anit-abortion critics have concerns? This isn’t abortion we’re talking about here. This pill does not induce a miscarriage of an already forming embryo. It prevents the fertilized egg from embedding in the lining of the uterus. Now, some may argue that a fertilized egg is life - - however, if it’s not attached to the uterine lining, it does not a pregnancy make - therefore, no life.
It is yet another method of birth control. As for the concerns that it will lull women into complacency about regular, responsible birth control and sexually transmitted disease. I’ve been on birth control for years - - I never once believed that my birth control pill is going to keep me safe from the clap. Responsible and safe sex goes way far beyond mere birth control. If a woman is having unsafe sex and comes down with a creepy disease in her nether regions - - it’s not the fault of the birth control she is taking - - it’s because she was STUPID and didn’t take the necessary measures to protect herself.
Furthermore - just because there is an emergency morning after pill available at my local Walgreen’s Pharmacy - - that doesn’t mean that I’m going to chuck my monthly birth control prescription out the window and depend on this emergency relief. Who wants that kind of hassle? Who knows what repeated use of the stuff does to a woman’s body? I’d rather stick with my tried and true method.
It isn’t abortion — it’s birth control, folks. And personally, I’m thrilled that it’s available over the counter. Now maybe my tax dollars will go to support four hundred thousand unwanted kids in broken families throughout this nation, instead of six hundred thousand. Maybe.
9:35 pm on December 19th, 2003
There is absolutely no shortage of reputable, peer-reviewed literature that says, with no doubt, that access to contraceptives does not increase the rate of sexual activity among teens. It does, as one might imagine, increase the use of contraceptives, but there is no increase in the frequency of sexual intercourse.
Despite the facts, some in the pro-life movement, choose to ignore the studies and continue with the party line.
10:17 pm on December 19th, 2003
Because it’s comfortable. They tow the line of the anti-abortion agenda . . . not sure it has to do with political party. There are anti-abortionists on both sides.
Semantics, I suppose.