Arrested 1961 for contraception counseling

More than 90 percent of women between 15 and 24 years old consider contraceptive “morning after pills” to be safe and effective, according to a new report. However, the findings also show that easy accessibility to emergency contraception influences whether it is used promptly.

Morning after pills, which are taken after intercourse, consist of hormones that prevent a pregnancy from occurring. Since they can be taken immediately after intercourse (instead of waiting until the “morning after”), some doctors prefer the term “emergency contraception.”

The results show that 92 percent of the women believed emergency contraception to be safe and 98 percent considered it effective, according to the report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Guaranteed access to contraception has been proven beneficial for decades.  Why do religious reactionaries fear processes encouraging independent women?



  1. Mr. Fusion says:

    Why do religious reactionaries fear processes encouraging independent women?

    Power.

    Independence encourages thought. Thought encourages ideas. Ideas encourage new views. All these concepts are heretical to most religious teachings.

  2. Mac Guy says:

    Amen!

    /pun

  3. JT says:

    How about a night before pill? One that spurs a woman’s reasoning center to have protected sex.

  4. Rob says:

    Christianity was created as a way to counter the power and influence of women given to them by the matriarchal, mother-worshipping pagan religions of the time. Everything about Christianity is “men are good, women are evil, therefore men must be in total control”. I just can’t understand why any woman would ever choose to be a Christian. “Oh yes, I want to be subserviant and inferior!”

  5. Suntan says:

    Just so you know the little pills cost 40 to 50 dollars. I would not call that universally available.

  6. WokTiny says:

    Power?
    quite the blanket answer there.

    how about, its functionally too close to abortion to be accepted by pro-lifers, regardless of religion, or power.

    and is also the opposite of good decision making, like #3 said, preventative measures.

  7. JT says:

    This can almost be compared to a hangover remedy. “Oh my God, what did I do last night?” Quick, reach for a pill that will undo whatever stupid thing I might have done. Maybe they can combine this with a strong antibiotic to stamp out any potential STDs along with it.

  8. James Hill says:

    #7 – Yes, and they can call it the “You’re not responsible for your actions pill”.

    That was too easy. Truth be told, I’m all for what you’re talking about.

  9. deh says:

    #4 – sounds like you really enjoyed that Davinci Code book, eh?

    #6 – If, unlike the “morning after” pill, this new pill prevents the pregnancy from ever occurring, then can it really be considered “functionally the same” as an abortion? To borrow from Monty Python, the only way I can see people having a problem with this one is if they’re in the “Every sperm is sacred, Every sperm is good” camp, and those people don’t even think the birth control pill should be used.

  10. John Paradox says:

    the “Every sperm is sacred, Every sperm is good” camp,

    Uh-oh…….

    J/P=?

  11. mpython says:

    “…if a sperm gets wasted, then god gets quite irate”

    🙂

  12. Brian says:

    JT-

    How about a pill that prevents men from having sex, too? Or does that not fit into your ‘women must stay controlled’ scenario you obviously enjoy? It’s annoying to see dorky guys like you saying that women should, essentially only have sex for reproduction. Where’s your outrage against the men doing the same exact thing?

    How quickly would EVERY sort of morning after pill, abortion be legalized if it were MEN who were the ones that became pregnant?

    Look, premarital sex is always going to be – it’s human nature. Reducing/eliminated unwanted pregnancies and the burden they place on the woman and society in general is a good thing (seeing as the man has little to no care to be involved after his needs have been met).

  13. WokTiny says:

    #12 How quickly would EVERY sort of morning after pill, abortion be legalized if it were MEN who were the ones that became pregnant?

    no, lets face it, if men had the babies, women would be in government. then, we’d call men women, and women, men.

    oh, and we’d have all the same problems. gender conflict cannot be solved by role-reversal.

  14. JT says:

    #12 – I was advocating protected sex, not abstinence. There are health considerations other than pregnancy to consider. It is a woman’s duty to demand a condom. A man’s economic well being depends on it. The morning after pill is treating the consequence of a poor decision the night before. We should be promoting intelligent decision making, not encouraging risky behavior. Much like the latest HIV/AIDS treatments promote risky homosexual behavior, the morning after pill does the same.

  15. Floyd says:

    #14: The Morning After Pill is intended to be an emergency measure in case the contraceptive measure fails (such as a condom or diaphragm breaking). It’s not intended to be primary contraception and never was.

  16. TJGeezer says:

    It’s also for use after rape, for example. Or incest between two minors, consensual or otherwise. There is no moral basis to insist that a rape victim have to risk carrying an unwanted baby to term, if the process that occurs between intercourse and pregnancy can simply be stopped. No pregnancy, no abortion, no issue .

    Why do we assume women would want to use these measures to enable risky behavior? Society has already been there, done that with The Pill. This is something entirely different.

  17. OhForTheLoveOf says:

    #13 – oh, and we’d have all the same problems. gender conflict cannot be solved by role-reversal.

    Comment by WokTiny — 2/6/2007 @ 10:53 am

    But they might be solved by taking religion out of society.

  18. Proteome says:

    FYI, this can cause the death of a fertilized, viable zygote. So, it can prevent fertilization OR kill the zygote, which is considered to many as abortion.

  19. doug says:

    #4. Actually, in the early years of Christianity, women were likely the majority of its adherents, and they played a very prominent role in the early Church. Paul would not have been castigating women presiding over services if they weren’t doing it.

    It was only later, when the Church became more of a bureaucracy, that women got sidelined.

  20. Angel H. Wong says:

    #12 “How about a pill that prevents men from having sex, too?”

    It’s called “talking about Star Wars on your first date with any woman.”

    Of course, it doesn’t work with gay men though.

  21. jccalhoun says:

    Morality aside, what is this story??? Women think it is safe and effective. well why wouldn’t they? It is FDA approved, right? “safe and effective” doesn’t mean imply anything about whether or not they think it is morally right or wrong. This is like saying that 92 percent of people think that aspirin is safe and effective.

  22. Mr. Fusion says:

    #18, FYI, this can cause the death of a fertilized, viable zygote. So, it can prevent fertilization OR kill the zygote, which is considered to many as abortion.
    Comment by Proteome — 2/6/2007 @ 3:01 pm

    Get an effen life.

    The fertilized egg is NOT viable until it has come down the fallopian tube and implanted itself into the uterine wall. This usually takes several days. The morning after pill must be taken early on, as soon after conception as possible to stop the body from receiving the egg. If it implants in the fallopian tube it will cause the tube to rupture and possibly kill the mother and definitely kill the fetus.

    #20, damn you’re on a roll. Another good post.

  23. Proteome says:

    #22 I mean absolutely no disrespect here, but do a little research on this and you’ll find that it’s quite possible for the egg to be fertilized outside the fallopian tubes while in the uterus. Additionally, the fact is that many still consider the intentional destruction, directly or indirectly, of a fertilized egg as induced abortion.

    I’m not quite sure about which part of what I said would elicit a response for me to “get a…life.” It was just info.


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