Fighting against the war on birth control from Waco, Texas
Young: The unfathomable war against contraception
The real “issue” is expressed by the anti-contraceptive fringe: that Plan B could cause a fertilized egg not to implant. Most biologists consider conception to include implantation, so this doesn’t meet their definition of abortion. Nonetheless, some opponents call Plan B an abortifacient. They say the same of the birth control pill. It has essentially the same qualities as Plan B, just in lower doses. Polls consistently show that most Americans would not ban abortion. Even among the minority that would, the numbers affirm that most support contraception. Surely one would want as much if one really cared about averting unwanted pregnancies. Policy, therefore, is being dictated by a minority of a minority.
Over the past five years, I’ve watched the balance of power in this country shift from a government that seemed to at least recognize the primacy of the individual as well as said individual’s right to make decisions that governed his or her life. Now we’re saddled with a government that seems to think that merely talking the talk of “less government” and personal responsibility is sufficient to keep the sheeple at bay while rabid Social Conservatives attempt to remake the moral and ehtical landscape of this country.
The reality is that the Social Conservative wing of the GOP wants nothing to do with less government- unless you’re talking about business and economic issues. No, where the zealots want more government control is over the moral aspect of American life. Abortion, prayer in public schools, gay marriage- these are issues near and dear to the hearts of Social Conservatives. Not only do these folks want to live according to their narrow rules, they want to force everyone else to live by them as well. Nowhere is this extreme, self-righteous intolerance desire to force their rules down our throats more in evidence than when it comes to the issue of birth control.
There are few issues on which Americans are more in agreement on than birth control. The prevention of unwanted pregnancies is and should be something that both pro-choice LIberals and anti-choice Conservatives can agree on- and for the most part they do. Even so, there is a fringe group on the right, that, in spite of these numbers, sees it as their duty to restrict access to birth control:
[A] Harris Poll found that 90 percent of Americans support the use of contraception.
Check that. Harris found that 90 percent of Catholics support contraception.
Among Americans, the number is 93 percent.
You know, though, if people would just stop having sex, then birth control would no longer be necessary. It’s so much easier when you break things down logically, no??
Again, preventing unwanted pregnancies is something that people on both sides of the abortion argument can agree on. Why, then, is a small minority raising Hell over an effective contraceptive like Plan B? Well, because that small minority is fervently anti-woman, anti-choice, anti-sex- and they have the ear of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader.
The nation has one such tool with emergency contraception — Plan B. No, it’s not the “abortion pill,” although opponents try to rope it into the same off-limits reservation as RU 486.
Having Plan B available for over-the-counter use makes it more likely that unintended pregnancies will be prevented. So said a Food and Drug Administration panel. Yet FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford last year shelved the matter. He cited the potential use or abuse by minors, something that could be said about anything from aspirin to Listerine.
Another assertion is that easy access would increase promiscuity. The same could be said about having condoms in gas-station vending machines.
For some reason, these zealots just can’t seem to stomach the reality that some folks just want to have sex. The idea that people might actually be having fun by expressing their sexuality recreationally is something that just doesn’t register in their pointy li’l haids. So what’s the solution to the problem- at least in their minds? Well, if people would just stop having illicit sex, the problem would solve itself, right? Just take away the contraception option and Voila! No more sex!
Uh, wait….
If you look at the numbers, more than 90 percent of Americans agree that the use of contraception is a good thing. And, I suppose if you choose to ignore the reality of human sexuality and the urge to merge, you might think you have the solution. Let me tell you something, though; what you define as a “virtue” is nothing of the sort.
Reality #1: People will have sex, within and without the bonds of matrimony. Same as it ever was.
Reality #2: No matter how much you want to ignore human nature and the reality that humans are sexual beings, realty #1 is immutable and will not change.
Reality #3: By attempting to legislate theirr narrow, fun-deprived brand of morality, these zealots are running counter to the stated views of more than 90% of Americans. Yeah, a minority of a minority are trying to force their rules down our throats. We should be up in arms, demanding that these zealots cease and desist. Why aren’t more Americans doing so? Because we’re not paying attention and we just don’t seem to care.
Don’t say you weren’t warned….
