2004-09-30


Until more people in the pro-life group start doing something other than complain how bad abortion is or how bad its supporters are, I remain convinced that many of them just want to control the sexual and reproductive choices of others.

Can someone tell me why the majority of the pro-life believers who complain so much about abortion do so little, if anything, to find workable and practical ways to reduce the occurrence of abortion significantly? All I ever hear from the pro-life side of the abortion debate is how horrible abortion is and how evil the women who obtain them are. Ive debated on those boards.  I've read their views.  Some of the pro-life viewpoints are rather extremist, to put it politely. But I wonder what would happen if more pro-lifers started working for the following alternatives to be put in place:

1. Push pharmaceutical companies to develop a 100% guaranteed method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. While theyre at it, why not develop two guaranteed methods, one for men and one for women? I find it ironic, even tragic, that they can develop a potency drug for men, also known as Viagra, but have produced nothing so far to prevent the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies.

2. Campaign for a requirement for all health insurance companies to cover the costs of contraception and voluntary sterilization for those who dont want kids, now or ever. Currently, there are many men and women whose health insurance plans do not cover the cost of birth control methods or sterilization procedures. Wouldnt it be more practical and productive for them to cover contraception costs in addition to covering costs for abortion procedures?

3. Campaign for doctors to provide sterilization on demand for anyone who will never want children. I know of several people who have said how difficult its been for them to obtain a tubal ligation or vasectomy, and some still have not found a doctor willing to perform the procedure for them.

4. Start pressuring the traditional religions, including Catholicism, Latter Day Saints, and Orthodox Christians, to name just three, to drop their ridiculous anti-masturbation church doctrine, since Ive never known engaging in masturbation to cause pregnancy. If there had been a case, it would have been the hot topic of Oprah or Dr. Phil by now. They should quit campaigning against gay marriage as well, since two people of the same sex will never create an unwanted pregnancy. Why dont conservative religions encourage those activities instead of condemning and demonizing them? Oh, thats right, encouraging them would be promoting "sexual pleasure without responsibility," wouldnt it? Never mind that so many unwanted pregnancies and abortions could be prevented altogether. They wouldnt want to make too much sense now, would they?

If all four of these alternatives were to be implemented, I can see the need for abortion being significantly reduced right there. The problem is, too many pro-lifers have hard-line religious viewpoints that would consider one or all of the above as not having "respect for life." One very conservative Christian group known as Quiverfull doesnt allow their members to use any contraception.  They don't allow couples in their faith to engage in sexual activities that avoid pregnancy completely either. They believe that using contraception "interferes with Gods work" and "promotes pleasure over responsibility." A rather extremist view, in my opinion.

Until more people in the pro-life group start doing something other than complain how bad abortion is or how bad its supporters are, I remain convinced that many of them just want to control the sexual and reproductive choices of others. It has absolutely nothing to do with abortion at all.  So, if control of others' lifestyles isnt the issue, can they tell me why the majority of them arent working more actively to do other things besides making abortion illegal?  I doubt that I'm the only one who would love to hear their answer.