Swobidu Health

Posts Tagged ‘contraception’

June 2010

• there are 62 million U.S. women in their childbearing years (15–44).[1]

• seven in 10 women of reproductive age (43 million women) are sexually active and do not want to become pregnant, but could become pregnant if they and their partners fail to use a contraceptive method.[2]

• The typical U.S. woman wants only two children. To achieve this goal, she must use contraceptives for roughly three decades.[3]

• Virtually all women (more than 99%) aged 15–44 who have ever had sexual intercourse have used at least one contraceptive method.[2]

• Overall, 62% of the 62 million women aged 15–44 are currently using a method.[2]

• Almost one-third (31%) of these 62 million women do not need a method because they are infertile; are pregnant, postpartum or trying to become pregnant; have never had intercourse; or are not sexually active.[2]

• Thus, only 7% of women aged 15–44 are at risk for unintended pregnancy but are not using contraceptives.[2]

• Among the 43 million fertile, sexually active women who do not want to become pregnant, 89% are practicing contraception.[2]

• Sixty-three percent of reproductive-age women who practice contraception use nonpermanent methods, including hormonal methods (such as the pill, patch, implant, injectable and vaginal ring), the IUD and condoms. The remaining women rely on female or male sterilization.[2]

• Contraceptive choices vary markedly with age. For women younger than 30, the pill is the leading method.  Among women aged 30 and older, more rely on sterilization.[2]

CONTRACEPTIVE METHOD CHOICE Method use among U.S. women who practice contraception, 2006–08 Method No. of users (in 000s) % of users Pill 10,700 28.0 Tubal sterilization 10,400 27.1 Male condom 6,200 16.1 Vasectomy 3,800 9.9 IUD 2,100 5.5 Withdrawal 2,000 5.2 Three-month injectable (Depo-Provera) 1,200 3.2 Vaginal ring (NuvaRing) 900 2.4 Implant (Implanon or Norplant), one-month injectable (Lunelle) or patch (Evra) 400 1.1 Periodic abstinence (calendar) 300 0.9 Other* 200 0.4 Periodic abstinence (natural family planning) 100 0.2 Diaphragm † † TOTAL 38,214 100.0 *Includes emergency contraception, female condom or vaginal pouch, foam, cervical cap, Today sponge, suppository or insert, jelly or cream (without diaphragm) and other methods.
†Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision.

• The pill and female sterilization have been the two leading contraceptive methods in the United States since 1982. However, sterilization is the most common method among black and Hispanic women, while white women mostly commonly choose the pill.[2]

• Female sterilization is most commonly relied on by women who are aged 35 or older, women who are currently or have previously been married, women with two or more children, women below 150% of the federal poverty level and women with less than a college education.[2]

• half of all women aged 40–44 who practice contraception have been sterilized, and another 20% have a partner who has had a vasectomy.[2]

• The pill is the method most widely used by women who are in their teens and 20s, women who are cohabiting, women with no children and women with at least a college degree.[2]

• Some 6.2 million women rely on the male condom.[4] Condom use is especially common among teens and women in their 20s, women with one or no children and women with at least a college education.[2]

• Dual methods (most often the condom combined with another method) are used by 13.5% of contraceptive users. The proportions using more than one method are greatest among teenagers and never-married women.[2]

• Teenagers (aged 15–19) who do not use a contraceptive at first sex are twice as likely to become teen mothers as are teenagers who use a method.[2]

• Twenty-three percent of teenage women using contraceptives choose condoms as their primary method. Condom use is higher among women aged 20–24 and is lower among older and married women.[2]

• Of the 2.9 million teenage women who use contraceptives, 54%—more than 1.5 million women—rely on the pill.[2]

• The proportion of women aged 15–44 currently using a contraceptive method increased from 56% in 1982 to 64% in 1995, and then declined slightly to 62% in 2002 and 2006–2008.[2]

• Among all women, 7% were at risk of unwanted pregnancy but not using a method in 2006–2008, an increase from 5% in 1995. [2]

• Among just those women who are sexually active and able to become pregnant but do not want to become pregnant, 11% are not using contraceptives. that number is much higher among teens aged 15–19 (19%) and lower among older women aged 40–44 (8%).[2]

• The proportion of women using contraceptives who rely on condoms decreased between 1995 and 2006–2008 from 20% to 16%. However, use was still higher in 2006–2008 than it was in 1988.[2,4]

• between 1995 and 2002, the share of users relying on the pill increased slightly, from 27% to 31%, but it declined slightly, to 28%, in 2006–2008.[2]

• In 2006–2008, 27% of contraceptive users relied on female sterilization, compared with 23% in 1982.[funded family planning clinic.[2,4]

FIRST YEAR CONTRACEPTIVE FAILURE RATES Method Perfect use Typical use Pill (combined) 0.3 8.7 Tubal sterilization 0.5 0.7 Male condom 2.0 17.4 Vasectomy 0.1 0.2 Three-month injectable 0.3 6.7 Withdrawal 4.0 18.4 IUD (Copper-T) 0.6 1.0 IUD (Mirena) 0.1 0.1 Periodic abstinence – 25.3    Calendar 9.0 –    Ovulation method 3.0 –    Symptothermal 2.0 –    Post-ovulation 1.0 – One-month injectable 0.05 3.0 Implant 0.05 1.0 Patch 0.3 8.0 Diaphragm 6.0 16.0 Sponge    Women who have had a child 20.0 32.0    Women who have never had a child 9.0 16.0 Cervical cap    Women who have had a child 26.0 32.0    Women who have never had a child 9.0 16.0 Female condom 5.0 27.0 Spermicides 18.0 29.0 No method 85.0 85.0 Note: Data for the pill, male condom, three-month injectable, withdrawal and periodic abstinence were updated in 2007. *Most perfect-use rates have been clinically evaluated, but some are based on clinical expertise or “best guesses” (such as some forms of periodic abstinence, withdrawal and no method use). †Typical-use rates for the implant, the diaphragm and spermicides are based on 1991–1995 data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, as calculated by Fu et al. Rates for the three-month injectable, the pill, the male condom, periodic abstinence and withdrawal are based on data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, as calculated by Kost et al. Rates for the IUD, sterilization and the female condom are from Hatcher et al., and are adjusted by the ratio of the corrected and standardized failure rate in the first 12 months for all methods (12.9%) to the uncorrected failure rate for all methods (9.9%), as reported in Fu et al. other typical-use rates are from Hatcher et al. Sources: Perfect use—Hatcher RA et al., eds., Contraceptive Technology, 18th ed., new York: Ardent Media, 2004, Table 9-2. Typical use— Hatcher RA et al., eds., Contraceptive Technology, 18th ed., new York: Ardent Media, 2004; and Fu H et al., Contraceptive failure rates: new estimates from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, Family planning Perspectives, 1999, 31(2):56–63; and Kost K, et al., Estimates of contraceptive failure from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, Contraception, 2007, 77(1):10–21.

• The proportion of all users relying on the IUD has increased substantially, from less than 1% in 1995, to 2% in 2002, to 5.5% in 2006–2008. [2]

• One-quarter of the more than 20 million American women who obtain contraceptive services from a medical provider receive care from a publicly funded family planning clinic.[5]

• In 2008, 7.2 million women, including 1.8 million teenagers, received contraceptive services from publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States.[5]

• Federal employees are guaranteed insurance coverage for contraceptives.[6]

• nine in 10 employer-based insurance plans cover a full range of prescription contraceptives, which is three times the proportion that did so just a decade ago.[7]

• Twenty-seven states now have laws in place requiring insurers that cover prescription drugs in general to provide coverage for the full range of contraceptive drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration.[8]

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A couple’s financial situation contributes significantly to their decision not to have more children, and requires the couple, especially the female partner, to pay more attention to contraception, according to a national survey.

In a summer 2011 HealthyWomen survey of more than 1,000 U.S. women ages 28 to 48 who are in committed relationships and have at least one biological child, 46% of women say financial circumstances impact their decision to say “my family is complete.”

This is not a new story. in a 2009, the Guttmacher Institute took a deep look at the impact of the recession on women’s family planning and pregnancy decisions. the institute survey found shrinking household budgets and the loss of job and health insurance caused many women to lose confidence in their ability to provide for their families.

Changed outlook

More than 4 in 10 of the women surveyed by the Guttmacher Institute said that because of the economy, they wanted to get pregnant later than they otherwise would have planned.

What’s more, 64% of women agreed with the statement, “With the economy the way it is, I can’t afford to have a baby right now.”

“Based on the present U.S. economic situation and poverty and unemployment reports in the recent census, we believe the dynamics remain the same today,” says Rachel Jones, Guttmacher senior research associate.

Kirsten Moore, president of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, says women are shying away from expanding or starting a family out of fear of not being able to afford it.

Parents want to be there for kids, she says. “When they’re stressed and worried if they can make it from one pay check to another, they can’t.”

Front-line OB/GYNs like Stanford University’s Dr. Paul Blumenthal say, “In tough economic times, desired family size goes down. the concern about the cost of clothing, feeding and educating children causes family size to contract.”

And in Washington State, Dr. Sarah Prager, assistant professor in the OB/GYN department at University of Washington, says, “At my clinic, we’re no longer seeing decreases in abortion even though we are seeing increases in the use of more effective birth control. there are no data, but one conclusion is that patients are choosing NOT to have families.”

Blumenthal says that he recently saw a news report on waiting lists for vasectomies. “That’s the kind of marker that tells the story of what is happening in families financially,” he says.

For women, he sees the intrauterine device (IUD) making a huge comeback in his own practice and in the U.S because of its efficacy and long-acting contraception—a trend which other experts also note.

Vicious circle

Finances also play a part when it comes to birth control methods. the recession is leading women to be more careful about birth control, with some even considering permanent sterilization like tubal ligation and hysteroscopic sterilization, like the Essure method and Adiana. At the same time, the 2009 Guttmacher survey found females are having a harder time paying for birth control.

It’s a vicious circle, says Blumenthal, noting a dollar spent on family planning is a cost savings that averts four to seven times the costs of unintended pregnancies—a U.S. health care tab that Guttmacher reports averages $11.3 billion annually.

And, ironic. says Dr. Sarah Prager, assistant professor in the OB/GYN department at University of Washington, all of these [most effective methods] are more expensive upfront, but are cheaper over time.

Workarounds: women and their docs

Money worries are prompting women to be more “strategic” when it comes to planning, according to Blumenthal. He’s seen more women schedule appointments at the end of the year to get any prescriptions or services into the new year while they still have coverage because they are uncertain of their future job security. 

“It’s all part of the economic equation,” says Blumenthal, noting that the equation extends to doctors’ orders as well. It’s not just discussing family planning and what’s right for a particular woman, he says. OB/GYNs must consider the most effective prevention in terms of health, money and a woman’s age in relation to her insurance coverage.

A new kind of patient

Women’s job insecurities aren’t unfounded. Clare Coleman, president of National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), which typically services low-income and largely uninsured women earning under $22,000 per year, says NFPRHA is now seeing a surge of new patients.

The most recent 2009 statistics report 134,000 patients received subsidized care, says Coleman. “That’s the greatest leap in one year in the last 10 years,” she says. “This group primarily comprises people who had higher incomes, lost their jobs and insurance, and came tumbling into lower income categories.”

It’s not uncommon to hear these women say, “’I never thought I’d have to ask for this kind of help; I’d never thought I’d be here.’”

Previously, these women would have dropped in for one visit between jobs or insurance plans for a prescription refill, but are now staying for two or more years.

NFPRHA patients traditionally fell into the 20-to-24-year-old category; now the fastest growing age for them is women between 40 and 44. “This tells us what has happened to the world of work and how people who are used to having private insurance and a visit with a ‘real’ doctor are being driven into publicly-funded programs in which they know they can get contraceptives at lower cost.”

Some good news

The Obama administration’s recent announcement that as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) insurance plans must cover birth control for free effective August 2012.the hope, says Moore, is that removing the copay for contraception will incent more women to use birth control. 

Eliminating cost sharing takes away the artificial decision making around contraceptive cost relative to what’s right for a woman, her finances, her time of life and her family relationships, says Coleman.  But if insurance companies are still able to manage the benefit, it’s hard to tell how the cost of payment for devices and brands combined with office visits will play out.

Australia was reported to have the sixth largest rate of teenage pregnancy among developed nations in 2003. As far as teenage pregnancy is concerned, Australia fell behind the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom during that year. As per the data collected in the year 2004, teenage pregnancy in Australia stood at the rate of 16.3 babies per 1000 women.

Five percent of Australian babies were reported to be born to teenage girls, while legally induced abortions were the second highest reason for girls between the ages of twelve and twenty to get admitted to hospitals. Studies also revealed that teenaged girls comprised the largest segment of society to use emergency contraception methods provided by family planning clinics. Around 45 percent of high school students who led actively sexual lives forgot to use condoms regularly.

A study was conducted to determine the differences in the rate of teenage pregnancy between an economically advanced zone such as Queensland and slum areas. Teenage pregnancy among the poor was about 67.8 births per 1000 women in comparison to the 21.7 babies per 1000 women in Queensland.

Studies have also pinpointed that the factors leading to teenage pregnancy in Australia are not different from those causing teenage pregnancy in the rest of the world. To mention a few, these factors are poor self-esteem, unfavorable domestic conditions, poor financial status, and family history of teen pregnancies.

Irrespective of the cause, a teenager girl who finds herself pregnant is faced with three alternatives.

Abortion
The most common way to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in Australia is abortion. Around half the number of unwanted pregnancies are terminated with the procedure of abortion, and around 16 percent of women who go in for an abortion are teenagers.

Laws concerning abortion differ according to the regions of Australia. in Queensland, for instance, abortion is perfectly legal if the pregnancy can cause harm to the woman’s mental and physical health. a woman can abort a 20-week fetus; but more than 90 percent of unwanted pregnancies are terminated by abortion when the fetus is only 12 weeks old.

Abortion, in case of a woman who has been pregnant for 12 weeks, may cost anywhere between 200 and 300 dollars. in some cases, government aid is available to poor women. The cost of abortion goes up after 12 weeks.

Put the Baby for Adoption
In a teenager is averse to the idea of abortion, she can have her baby and put it out for adoption. this option, however, is not popular among teenage girls and adult women alike.

Single parenthood is accepted now; moreover, the free availability of contraceptives and access to abortions has reduced not only teenage pregnancy but also the practise of putting out children for adoption. Only around 80 babies are adopted in Queensland every year.

Place the Baby in Foster Care
A teenage mother can also place a baby in the care of foster parents for a particular period of time till she is ready to take responsibility for the baby.

Being a single parent is now no longer a social taboo and the government offers plenty of aid to single parents, which is why more and more teenage mothers are opting to be single parents.

Counselling services are available to deal with problems related to teenage pregnancy in Australia.

Qualitest Pharmaceuticals just issued another nationwide, retail-level drug recall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced. In this case, multiple lots of birth control pills are being recalled because of a packaging error in which select blisters were rotated 180 degrees within the card, reversing the weekly tablet orientation and making the lot number and expiry date no longer visible.

This packaging error and the potential for this error to have affected other oral contraceptive products resulted in the recall of multiple lots. because of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy. while the packaging defects do not pose any immediate health risks, consumers exposed to affected packaging should immediately begin using a nonhormonal form of contraception and should consult their health care provider or pharmacist. Pharmacies are being instructed to contact consumers who received the recalled product. The source of the error is under investigation.

The recall is effective immediately and includes the following. Lot numbers—which can be found on the bottom of the box or individual blister card—can be accessed at: qualitestrx.com/pdf/OCRecall.pdf:

• Cyclafem™ 7/7/7 and Cyclafem™ 1/35• Emoquette™• Gildess® FE 1.5/30 and Gildess® FE 1/20• Orsythia™• Previfem ®• Tri-Previfem®

Doctors, pharmacists, or women seeking additional information on this recall, or consumers in possession of the recalled drugs, can reach Qualitest, toll-free, at 1.877.300.6153 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Time (CT), Monday through Friday.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of these products may be reported to Qualitest at its toll free number or to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax: Online at fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm; by regular mail, use postage-paid, pre-addressed Form FDA 3500 available at: 
fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm and mail to address on the pre-addressed form; or fax: 1.800.FDA.0178.

This is not the first time we have written about packaging problems at Qualitest Pharmaceuticals. In June, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals issued a nationwide, retail-level drug recall of Butalbital, Acetaminophen, and Caffeine Tablets because a bottle of Butalbital, Acetaminophen, and Caffeine Tablets was found incorrectly labeled with an Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Tablets label. because the recalled bottles may contain incorrect tablets, patients could unintentionally take Butalbital and caffeine instead of Hydrocodone; Acetaminophen is in both preparations. In February, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals issued a voluntary nationwide drug recall of some of its Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Tablets and its Phenobarbital Tablets because an individual bottle of Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Tablets was found incorrectly labeled with a Phenobarbital Tablets.

And, in late 2009, Qualitest Pharmaceuticals issued a recall for all of its Accusure® Insulin Syringes because the recalled syringes may have needles which detach from the syringe. according to the recall notice, if the needle becomes detached from the syringe during use, it can become stuck in the insulin vial, push back into to the syringe, or remain in the skin after injection.

No lover ever feels alone, when they are in the arms of their beloved.

No child ever feels neglect when they can rely on their friends for promises, no adolescent feels the blistering stings of indignity when they listen to their soul more than they listen to the crowd, and no person must suffer through the anguish of life so long as they believe in who they are.

Contraception, or birth control, is something that has evolved over the ages in every culture. in every age, though, it has allowed people to accomplish the greatest pleasure without the greatest responsibility. The principle of contraception is this: that one may enjoy sex, without having to worry about some of the problems derived from sexual activity, such as sexually-transmitted-diseases or pregnancy. yet today, like in any age of Western Civilization, there is always a front to contraception. On religious or moral grounds, or both, there are numerous claims that contraception and birth prevention are cruel or uncivilized. that, on some mythical or mystic principle, we ought to abstain from sex, unless we are willing to take the consequences of birth — or, unless we are going to throw those consequences on to a child who the world did not want. I will say this: birth prevention, in any form or means, works to prevent children from entering this world that are not wanted. it prevents the spread of life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Passion and reverence, kindliness and lust, it allows two hearts to come closer, just for a few brief seconds in this eternity, so that they may physical enjoy love that took either days or decades to build up. Promiscuity is not a problem, unless it is done in an unsafe environment. then the problem disease will be upon those who were unsafe. this is but their own dilemma. but to create a child, without having a world ready for this child, is force this dilemma on to someone unable to understand it and unwilling to acknowledge to it.

Every creature on this planet is born with a brain and a mind in this brain. Like any brain, these minds will produce a various string of emotions: kindness and aggression, love and hate. Those emotions which instill an individual with depression or anger, they cannot be denied, no matter how devastating their effects are. The expression of love should never be denied. Holding another in the embrace of your warmth, in a shower of touches, lips touching every part — as emotions are arroused and desires are formed, sex usually becomes an inevitably, and to deny it is to deny everything humane and kindly in our Universe. it is a desecration of love’s sweet sentiments, embittered only by the limits of our natural world: we may touch, we may physically show another what love means, but we may only be one together in our hearts — we can believe that nothing will seperate us forever, only in our minds. Contraception, birth prevention, will allow men and women to engage it sex, be it promiscous or long-term, and enjoy what physical love means. this knowledge, this understanding of love as it exists in palms covering thighs, breath over neck — sweet touching in a storm of bliss — this knowledge is something that should be denied to no creature. no person should die not knowing what affection means — no person should live without some memories of passion emboddied in experience. Contraception will give to us the right to do as we like with each other, without the fear of STDs or pregnancy. Love is a valuable thing, perhaps most valuable of all. To allow it to wilt in our heart, grow gangreen and die, without experience, is maybe one of the greatest crimes.

With every social, political, or economical question, there is usually some talk of rights. of what right do people have to do something, or of what right do others have to deny them their hobbies and interests? The most cherished right on this planet is a person’s right to their mind, to think what thoughts they may, judge theories weighing evidence in a way they wish, and form their own conclusions. To read any book that catches their heart’s interest. After this comes a person’s right to their own body, to do with it what they wish, and inolve only those who are consenting and willing. if a person so decides to engage in sexual activity, in what right is it different than a person who decides to engage in watching a play, writing poetry, or humbly residing in nature’s serene abode? there is no difference, as these actions do not cause suffering, nor do they destroy anything. They only serve to enrich the very natural belief that intellectual pursuits can lead to the soul’s contentment — that inner beauty exists only so much as we know it to exist. To say that a man may not engage in sexual activity — to find a lover and bombard them with the affection built up over weeks of loneliness — is the same to say that a person may not travel through forests and grasslands in their never-ending quest to appease their need for beauty, or that every stanza of a poem is a sin against nature. let men and women have their rights, and do what they will with each other. They harm none in their own hobbies and pursuits. whatever claims as to their actions being disgust or vile are not up to the observer, but to the actor. To this end, I believe that men and women ought to be allowed the right to worry-free sex, with the aid of contraception, protecting their bodies, and those that are to come in the following years.

Like a screaching howl in a night camp, there will always be the argument that it is unnatural, that it wasn’t meant to be, that it is simply not right. Every sincere lover has had to suffer through these claims, and every grave marked with the blood of lovers not meant to be is a testiment to the beauty of truth and the reality of humanity. I will never travel through this world without these histories of people who lived and died by what they believed, only to be forgotten in today’s mass scurry to find something to fill the pain of meaninglessness. I will never hear a story of lovers, without instantly having thoughts of kindliness, respect, intimacy — there will never be memories of love without tears of longing — never a kiss given for affection that was forgotten. in this understanding of our minds, almost a completely different world from the one we must live in, we hear this argument, that sex with contraception is unnatural, that it breaks the laws of nature. I care not. Unnatural or natural, if an act brings two empathic hearts together, then I will stand by it. if by saving another’s life, or preventing another’s suffering, if by doing a humane and kind act, if by doing this I end up breaking a law of nature, I will hold no regrets, and my idea that hope is very real will not faulter. if it be natural for slavery to exist, in the human or animal world, in a pair of Nike shoes or in a McDonald’s meal, if it is a natural act to kill and maim, I will forever remain in an unnatural ideology, as I will stand by compassion and justice for a thousand years before I abandon them to some claim to naturality. so, cast your arguments, like throwing stones so they may sink into the ocean’s deep abyss. The lovers of the world will take no heed to what is natural or not. They will do what their hearts tell them, what they should do, and the intelligent ones will use contraception, irregardless of what social laws tell them. and love will survive beyond these petty rules, so that while our world goes on in the rat-race for wealth and property, the criminality of it all will slowly fade away, as does the world, while two lovers become their own world.

There is, in this matter of social and ethical consideration, an argument from the religious. The Catholic doctrine, for example, dictates that the sex organs were made for reproduction and not for pleasure. in all honesty, there are few things more foul than this: to believe in such an ugly god, that he must condemn acts of pleasure, joy, happiness, and warmth, on account of the purpose of organs. I’ve already given my opinion on whether or not it is natural or unnatural for contraceptives to be used: I don’t care — if an act puts a smile on the face of one soul in this fading Universe, then I cannot condemn it. Any person who endeavors to create happiness for those around them, is a person deserving of my admiration. The priests and clergy can speak for a thousand years on this matter, for all that I care. When the acts of love can be permitted without worry of pregnancy or disease — when it is no crime to express with your body what your heart believes — when it almost seems that the stars flicker even more brightly, when another’s touch reaches deep down, and it doesn’t take words to speak your soul — when this occurs, every humane person will celebrate and lovers in every land will have a reason to rejoice. with the invention of contraception came the expression of emotions which have been as old as the beginning of sentient life. Like every great revolution in culture which has approved humane ideals, religion has stuck its ugly head out of the shadows, and proclaimed that contraception is an abomination. this is but the very definition of treason to justice

Contraception needs no defense from religion, but I will give one: religion has been the defender of every cruel and malicious crime enacted on the innocent beings of this planet. it knows no race, no gender, no species, no family. it only knows how to exploit. it can be difficult to see how contraception is immoral from a Secularist view: it only works to prevent the sad reality of neglected and battered children. What can be said of a religion when it affirms all that disgusts our heart? little more can be said of it, other than it is revolting and merciless. I have argued for compassion and humanity in all regards of life, but when a religion opposes compassion and humanity, it is unworthy of devotion; in fact, it was quite unworthy of devotion from the moment it had no evidence to support itself with. there is no evidence to support the ideas of the supernatural, so I will not portion my soul off to the church just to suffice a dogma. The reason to believe in the gods does not exist — nor does my belief in such a being exist. this, though, is not the point. The fact is that contraception, by all objective and worldly consideration, is a good thing. but once religion grasps its sickly, pale hands around it, it becomes something vile and cruel. upon discovery, religion will villify and incriminate a source of inspiration and dreams. Religion will take art and masterpiece, and turn it into a vulgarity. if anyone needs evidence of this, simply take into consideration the human body. I can speak until the last human being is standing on the matters of religion’s iniquity, but the matter remains: religion is no authority on the matter of goodness, but rather, it is subject to the heart’s humane sentiments. Every time religion holds contraception as something to despise, it is one less reason to believe in the gods, and one more reason to admire free love for its champion ability to survive. if there is one religion I abide by, it is the religion of love, to which contraception is the patron saint.

People will engage in sexual activity with each other. it is simply their nature. and under no regard, will they ever be different, unless their hormones undergo great alterations. no force will ever dissuade a person that they desire sexual activity. since human beings live in our society, sex is only an inevitability. Providing contraception will allow for humans to engage in sexual activity in a safe environment, without worry to disease or pregnancy. Not only does it show respect for each other, but it also shows respect for the unborn. there are millions of children, if not billions, who exist in this world — and no person ever spoke positively of their coming into being, their parents never dreamed of what their child would be. these children are the unwanted children, and some thinkers have gone even so far as to say that their lives hold no meaning, have no worth. I will argue the position of a Humanitarian, and I will say this: every conscious being holds worth, so far as it exists, so long as it is capable of crying and laughing. that a person may go through life and enjoy their travels, their journey to discover who they are, and that one day they may look back on where they came and how they became who they are, and in looking back, they find not pure bliss nor unavenged crimes, but rather, a rightness in their being — a knowledge that they lived up to justice’s expectations, to the romantic truth that emotion is supreme. if a person can do this, then they have value. I could care less what their parents had intended, or unintended. The fact is this: this person exists now, and I will give them my respect, and hold to them the same obligations I hold to any other person, that they are to give the rights they afford for themselves to all who may feel.

A child who is born without the intentions of their parents is still a child, and I will never shun them for who they are. Many of my personal, close friends were mistakes, their own ancestry made up of rape victims and prostitutes. They are no less noble, no less kindly, and no less loyal. I cannot truthfully offer them a single complaint on their character. Similarly, there are many individuals who exist without the intention of their parents, and they continue to exist without any awareness of Capitalism’s onslaught on to our rights and the government’s never ending compaign to abolish Democracy. whether or not someone was born with the intention of their parents, it is irrelevant in their character. but this I will say, no child should live in the knowledge that they are no more than a mere mistake. if individuals are going to become parents, it ought to be under the conditions of purpose and not accident. a status quo of this world will read as follows: plague and famine ravage the continents, economic and political super powers continue their battle to gain wealth and power through the means of war and slavery, all the while the general populace is left feeling helpless and powerless, as these powers go on in their conscienceless search for gold and glory. To bring up a child in this world is but no simple task, and there will never be a time where the raising of another individual is effortless. but, to thoughtless bring a being into existence in this world, with the constant battle against the government and the struggle for the peoples’ right to Democracy, to throw in a helpless babe into this is but truly a crime, and I will offer no grievance to these mothers and fathers who never once thought about the future of their child, as it shall be behind the bars of society’s oppression, or behind the very real bars of prison.

Contraception, or any means of birth prevention, cannot be objectively labelled as immoral. use of contraception will simply prevent suffering in this world, by not bringing children into this world that we cannot support. The goal of contraceptives is not to eliminate the human species, but simply to allow for sex to occur between the willing, without worry to disease or STDs. if contraceptives are banned, then lovers will weep with each other, whereas they would have enjoyed their own bodies and the pleasures of one another. Though it may be written in every biology book that sex can be a source of great pleasure, we must not ignore what the psychology book speaks of it: that sex, physical affection, can be a great source of intimacy, of expression of emotion. When individuals are capable to speak with their soul, using their body as nothing more than an instrument to their mind, then we are truly living in a free world. and for a second, with our breath on the soft, tender skin of our beloved, all of the tyrannies and all of the suffering in the world seem to stop tugging at our spirit, and just for those few fleeting moments — which we will remember till the end of our days — we find peace and tranquility, as our heart is pushed closer to the warmth of another’s.