Feminist, Humanist, Environmentalist, Pacifist = birth control
Setting: In the birthing ward of my local hospital, surrounded by families, newborns, nurses and doctors, all running around in that crazy mix of anxiety, stress and joy.
Birth Control: it's one of my top subjects that invoke deep passion within my heart. Turns out it is near and dear to the Gates Foundation's heart as well. Please consider visiting this website and signing the pledge: http://no-controversy.com/
If you are uncertain as to why this topic is so crucial, read on.
There are some people who feel that it is connected to immoral behavior, or even sin, and that the simple answer to avoiding unwanted pregnancy is to avoid having sex. Which is a great obvious solution! Except that many women - WORLD WIDE - do not have the option of avoiding sex. Our western ideas of rape aside, there is the pervasive social expectation in virtually every culture that if a man wants sex, he should be able to get it, and that is nothing short of written in stone when he has a wife. When horny, many men do not consider the possibility of pregnancy, and even if they do they are generally not aware of/attentive to the plethora of difficulties faced by women with many pregnancies: health issues of the mother and children, financial concerns, availability of resources, emotional strain, etc. And don't get me wrong, women get horny and ignore these issues, too! But these issues compound upon each other in an economically disadvantaged situation, where birth control is the most difficult to attain. Until we can all live in a world of free sexual expression, appreciation, understanding and consent across all genders, simply abstaining from intercourse to avoid pregnancy is not an option.
Pregnancy requires extra resources. Children require extra resources. Consumption of extra resources - particularly where they are scarce - means the difference between life and death, the difference between clean and contaminated water, the difference between responsible land husbandry and irresponsible farming. Pregnant women and newborn infants often require extra medical care, and while there may be no worthier use of our medical resources it also cannot be ignored that sickness and treatment produce waste. Medical waste may be some of the most environmentally damaging, with long-lasting plastic, bio-hazardous waste and mass chemical production. What's the old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?"
And finally, all of these issues contribute to the waging or prevention of war. War is most commonly sought out not for religious or political fervor, but for the most basic concern: to obtain resources. Where there is illness, where there are stretched resources, where there are perceived threats in the number of enemies, there will be conflict. Virtually no-one wants to become pregnant in the middle of an active war-zone--but there are plenty of people who want to have sex, willing or not.
For all of these reasons, plus many more, birth control is a much larger, deeper, and more crucial issue than most people think. Once again, please visit the link above, sign the pledge, spread the word, and literally help make the world a better place by making birth control easier to access and less stigmatized to use.
Birth Control: it's one of my top subjects that invoke deep passion within my heart. Turns out it is near and dear to the Gates Foundation's heart as well. Please consider visiting this website and signing the pledge: http://no-controversy.com/
If you are uncertain as to why this topic is so crucial, read on.
There are some people who feel that it is connected to immoral behavior, or even sin, and that the simple answer to avoiding unwanted pregnancy is to avoid having sex. Which is a great obvious solution! Except that many women - WORLD WIDE - do not have the option of avoiding sex. Our western ideas of rape aside, there is the pervasive social expectation in virtually every culture that if a man wants sex, he should be able to get it, and that is nothing short of written in stone when he has a wife. When horny, many men do not consider the possibility of pregnancy, and even if they do they are generally not aware of/attentive to the plethora of difficulties faced by women with many pregnancies: health issues of the mother and children, financial concerns, availability of resources, emotional strain, etc. And don't get me wrong, women get horny and ignore these issues, too! But these issues compound upon each other in an economically disadvantaged situation, where birth control is the most difficult to attain. Until we can all live in a world of free sexual expression, appreciation, understanding and consent across all genders, simply abstaining from intercourse to avoid pregnancy is not an option.
Pregnancy requires extra resources. Children require extra resources. Consumption of extra resources - particularly where they are scarce - means the difference between life and death, the difference between clean and contaminated water, the difference between responsible land husbandry and irresponsible farming. Pregnant women and newborn infants often require extra medical care, and while there may be no worthier use of our medical resources it also cannot be ignored that sickness and treatment produce waste. Medical waste may be some of the most environmentally damaging, with long-lasting plastic, bio-hazardous waste and mass chemical production. What's the old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?"
And finally, all of these issues contribute to the waging or prevention of war. War is most commonly sought out not for religious or political fervor, but for the most basic concern: to obtain resources. Where there is illness, where there are stretched resources, where there are perceived threats in the number of enemies, there will be conflict. Virtually no-one wants to become pregnant in the middle of an active war-zone--but there are plenty of people who want to have sex, willing or not.
For all of these reasons, plus many more, birth control is a much larger, deeper, and more crucial issue than most people think. Once again, please visit the link above, sign the pledge, spread the word, and literally help make the world a better place by making birth control easier to access and less stigmatized to use.