"Reproductive Health" is about Reproduction... AND Health.
And, apparently, some people are a little lacking in common sense in this area.
The latest news in this debate concerns The Pill and its many variations: the so-called "Plan B" pill may end up going over-the-counter soon, now that a U.S. District Judge has invalidated the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' ruling that despite the FDA approving Plan B for OTC sales, the drug is not safe enough to be readily available to young teens and others without ID and/or prescriptions. As a mother of 2 daughters and one more on the way, I'm a little freaked out. I've heard the arguments. That we want to eliminate the "shame" of unmarried sex; that girls and women should be able to make adult decisions without worrying overmuch about consequences; that becoming pregnant at an inconvenient time could ruin somebody's life. Hey, even President Obama has said that he wouldn't mind his daughters making the decision to abort without informing him- we all know that this is a "personal, private decision," of course. But it seems to me that we're being awfully hypocritical when it comes to Reproductive Health and comparing it to... well, basically ANYTHING else.
Consider, for instance, the public school system (who are clearly pioneers in efficiency and efficacy). Most schools require specific parental permission for a child to obtain even an Aspirin during school hours or anywhere on school grounds, even when brought from home. Schools require parental permission for field trips. There are routine parent-teacher conferences to assess the child's progress. And yet, at the same time, there is a push within the umbrella of "Reproductive Health" to increasingly limit the amount of influence a parent has with regard to sex education, access to contraceptives, and even abortion. Because we all know that parents are capable of making good decisions for their child's health, except when those decisions involve your child having sex. Heaven knows what would happen if we attempted to have standards for our child's behavior that would somehow involve them NOT having sex. I don't know about you, but I frankly plan to have standards for my children, and I don't plan on them NEEDING to make adult decisions like whether or not to keep their baby at age 13.
Let's also take a look at our lovely First Lady (who, to be fair, is probably perfectly nice when you get to know her). She, apparently, believes that she and her husband are running a country full of morons who cannot make personal decisions like what to eat on a daily basis. To be fair, there are A LOT of people who still think fast food is a go-to staple. And those people will probably end up paying for it later on in life. It doesn't mean that we have to baby-sit them through the process of food choices; it doesn't mean that we need to be clobbered over the head repeatedly by food pyramids and threats of What A Big Gulp Will Do To You. I already get these lectures every time I visit a pediatrician, OBGYN, or DHS office. They have. Posters. Everywhere. So clearly, there isn't a severe lack of understanding when it comes to what's proper to feed to kids- and most adults I know reach a certain age and frankly, figure out that they can't eat the junk that they used to.
Don't get me wrong- I think community gardens and fresh food initiatives and even incentives to encourage healthy eating could potentially be a good idea. I know SCADS of people who've recently revamped their diets to go largely vegetarian, even gluten-free and dairy-free. Lots of people cutting out unnecessary sugars and watching their portions, especially when it comes to the meat/vegetable ratio. Eating Organic is an ever-popular option that is only kept from most people due to cost concerns. But seriously? We all personally want to eat hormone-free beef and chicken, and then pump ourselves full of hormones anyway? We're going to try to make junk food illegal, but then put potentially harmful drugs on the counter for young teens and pre-teens to buy without parental consent or even instructions from a pharmacist? Shoot, even when you use Plan B correctly, they list side-effects like cramping and excessive bleeding.
Call me crazy, but I think there might be a better option than crazy hormone pills to reduce unplanned pregnancies (especially when, SOMEHOW, contraceptives don't reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies at all). This option is a little something I like to call Self Control.
It is free.
It works every time.
It can actually help you diagnose previously misunderstood or untreated problems, rather than simply mask them.
It can work to avoid pregnancy, or to achieve pregnancy.
There are no side effects.
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