WiccanLiberal
01-26-2013, 11:34 AM
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/01/23/many-women-victims-of-contraceptive-sabotage-experts-say
This is just one source on the subject. There are several articles in the news feed covering the same information. Essentially physicians are being advised to be aware of women who may have male partners sabotaging their efforts at birth control. Logically we must realize that SOME men are low enough to control a woman in this way. The focus is, I believe, a little wrong. Media again seems to throw the blame on men entirely in this issue. Reproductive coercion can and does go both ways. Before DNA testing, how many men supported children they had no way of positively identifying as their genetic offspring? And I can assert the truth of at least one case of connivance that, if performed by a man, would certainly raise an uproar. A friend was in a marriage that was obviously troubled. He and his wife had 2 children. She wanted a third and he felt, with the state of the relationship, this was a poor choice. She stopped taking her birth control pills without telling him, plied him with alcohol on his birthday and they had sex with the expected result. Their third child was born. The marriage was over and there was yet another life impacted by it that would not have been but for her connivance. If we are at all honest, that is also reproductive coercion. He loves his children but knows very well his ex-wife made a unilateral decision to make him responsible for yet another child. And I am sure there are folks here who can point to similar situations. My point is, reproductive choice should mean choice for BOTH parties to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. How do we, as a society, promote personal responsibility and appropriate choice? For starters, anyone with children, boys or girls, should be educating them about proper communication in a relationship and taking responsibility for your own DNA. It is way too late to second guess when you are on stage in a 'baby daddy' show on Maury. We need to empower young people to keep control of their reproductive capabilities, whether by saying no to a given sexual encounter or by protecting themselves if they choose to engage in such.
This is just one source on the subject. There are several articles in the news feed covering the same information. Essentially physicians are being advised to be aware of women who may have male partners sabotaging their efforts at birth control. Logically we must realize that SOME men are low enough to control a woman in this way. The focus is, I believe, a little wrong. Media again seems to throw the blame on men entirely in this issue. Reproductive coercion can and does go both ways. Before DNA testing, how many men supported children they had no way of positively identifying as their genetic offspring? And I can assert the truth of at least one case of connivance that, if performed by a man, would certainly raise an uproar. A friend was in a marriage that was obviously troubled. He and his wife had 2 children. She wanted a third and he felt, with the state of the relationship, this was a poor choice. She stopped taking her birth control pills without telling him, plied him with alcohol on his birthday and they had sex with the expected result. Their third child was born. The marriage was over and there was yet another life impacted by it that would not have been but for her connivance. If we are at all honest, that is also reproductive coercion. He loves his children but knows very well his ex-wife made a unilateral decision to make him responsible for yet another child. And I am sure there are folks here who can point to similar situations. My point is, reproductive choice should mean choice for BOTH parties to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. How do we, as a society, promote personal responsibility and appropriate choice? For starters, anyone with children, boys or girls, should be educating them about proper communication in a relationship and taking responsibility for your own DNA. It is way too late to second guess when you are on stage in a 'baby daddy' show on Maury. We need to empower young people to keep control of their reproductive capabilities, whether by saying no to a given sexual encounter or by protecting themselves if they choose to engage in such.