Contraceptives debate rooted in wrong areas
The concept of separation of church and state is what historically made American democracy better than the British rule. Recently, fundamental principles such as this have taken a hit, as politicians have strayed from the basic wording of the Constitution.
Many of America’s current key leaders have ignored the separation of church and state in order to assume the role of experts on God’s will for women’s bodies. These politicians, mostly men, can go back and forth all day on which birth control and abortion policies are best, according to their Christian principles, but the bodily health of women will continue to suffer.
Birth control and other contraceptives are key to keeping Americans safe and healthy. They are a cornerstone to safety of both women and men. For this debate to solely be based on religion is irresponsible. Women are not choosing birth control to spite God. They are choosing it to keep themselves healthy.
Politicians need to start looking at how these options protect the health of Americans, rather than how they supposedly ruin God’s plan for those using contraceptives. Birth control and other female contraceptives seem to be viewed as excuses for women to go wild and abuse their bodies.
For young girls going through rough patches of adolescent development, birth control is often the difference between missing school because of debilitating cramps and being able to succeed daily. This is only one way birth control protects female bodies.
These options are primarily intended to protect women from STIs and unwanted pregnancies. Contraceptives are there to keep women, and the men with whom they are involved, from having to make even tougher decisions.
I want to skip past all of the controversial quotes from politicians who denounce abortion even in cases of rape and other forms of sexual abuse, because that is not where this conversation needs to go. This conversation needs to start at birth control options for females, because if we promote these safety precautions, then we won’t have to worry as much about the issue of clinical abortions.
No one wants to say it, but for the safety of scared women and girls, we need safe medical environments. I think abortion is as much the immoral taking of an unborn life as a right wing-Republican, but we need this service. Scared women and girls need a safe medical place to weigh their options. If our society does not give them this safe, sterile environment, then they may take matters in to their own hands. This is the scariest thought. Without the safety of facilities such as Planned Parenthood, women may make their own decisions uninformed.
Many American politicians are suggesting to females across the country that they are lower than dirt for choosing these options, but these women are both strong and brave and nothing less. What these politicians forget about is the emotional and mental toll that abortion takes on females and their loved ones.
Because of physical limitations, men cannot understand the emotional toll that having a child has on the body and mind. It is strange that all of this talk of birth control and contraceptives is centered solely around women. Men obviously represent half of the risk of pregnancy, so they, too, need to be included in the conversation on contraception. Men need to be pushed to use contraceptives and to gently remind the women they are intimate with to keep on track with their birth control.
Men who make bold and uniformed statements on birth control and abortion have lost their compassion for women. This whole debate should not be spiritual, but based in cold, hard medical facts. The fact is that the push for contraceptive education in schools has lowered teen pregnancies. Awareness of the importance of contraceptives in general has lowered STI risks for all ages, and the increasing social acceptance of abortion services has kept females from making choices that would truly ruin their lives. These options are out there for medical safety, and politicians should not treat them as if they are Satan’s device for sin.
