Child Neglect and Unwanted Children: Who Takes The Blame?

Taking the high road I made a conscious decision to write this article. The idea given to me by a post I responded to on Facebook - Monday January 7, 2013.

The post was the photo to the right which I responded to, regrettably. I apologize for removing the link. Apparently the post was removed.

You can judge for yourself the actual way the discussion ended, I will not be discussing that particular discussion in this hub, what I will do is speak about the issue itself.

There are millions of children around the world who are neglected, unwanted, unloved and abused. Many of these kids are as a result of promiscuity and careless relations. On the other hand many of these children are also a result of abuse and personal violations. Please understand that I cannot use certain words in this article as they are against the rules . But many children and women have been abused by predators and relatives alike resulting in unplanned pregnancies and unwanted kids.

In some cases, children are born into poverty by loving parents who cannot afford to care for them the way they should be cared for.

The population below the poverty level is increasing as many people are suffering, jobs are scarce and food is virtually non-existent in many places. This breaks many hearts and many of us do what we can. To feed a hungry soul is to save a life.

• Who is to blame for this?
• What is the cause of this
• What role does sex play in all this
• Is sex the cause of unwanted kids and poverty?

1. Casting blame on one entity is quite redundant as many of these kids, as pointed out, are as a result of carnal abuse. Many women who find themselves pregnant after such ordeal may give the child away, for adoption, abort them or abandon them.
2. The situation has to be assessed thoroughly with keen attention to circumstance before making a judgement.
3. Awareness is another element in this matter. How aware are women and their spouses are about contraception?
4. A consideration of cultural and religious barriers. We all know the controversy surrounding the Catholic church and contraception.

Africa

Let's talk about Africa where there were lack of proper contraception methods and anti-abortion laws. Women would resort to illegal and sometimes dangerous methods of aborting their unwanted children. Statistics show that in Sub-Sharan Africa, about 3% of women abort their children using risky methods each year. The awareness and use of birth control has risen from a mere 5% in 1991 to 30% in 2006 in these areas.

China

In 1979 a 'one child' policy was implemented in the Republic of China. This was done to control population growth and the women were educated about contraception and given birth control. Now, over 70% of the population uses birth control methods. China has one of the best economies in the Eastern world.

India

India seems to be behind when it comes to married women using birth control. Less than half of the married women in that country uses preventative measures. Up to 2009 it was reported than around 76% of married women found it difficult to obtain any kind of contraception.

The UK

Sine 1974 contraception has been offered free to women under the National Health Service. It is also believed than more than 74% women of child bearing age use some form of birth control.

The USA

Statistics clearly show that around 64% women of child bearing age use some sort of birth control and around 98% of all women have used contraception at some point in their lives. Despite this, more than 50% of pregnancies in the US are unintended even with the abundance of various kinds of contraceptive methods.

Social

Population affects economic growth; whether positively or negatively. It is the responsibility of the government of every nation and country to educate and make available contraception for not only women but men as well.

Religious leaders need to be aware of the implications of overpopulation and step down from their high horses and allow people freedom of choice.

It is the responsibility of every government to institute laws that will protect the welfare of family, including objective laws governing abortion.

Personal

Every man and woman should bear the responsibility of their own choice. It is believed that all third world and developed countries have provided access to contraception for their citizenry.

Many people will argue that sex is the culprit and people should abstain. While I believe that abstinence is one of the best and most effective methods against pregnancy and STDs, I also believe that sex cannot happen without two people. Hence, the responsibility to not get pregnant lays with the couple doing the deed.

In the discussion I had on Face-book, I used the comparison with a gun. A gun is a useless weapon that cannot be fired on it's own. One has to first load then expel the weapon for it to kill or injure. I am not likening sex unto a gun but rather sex unto death. You cannot die by the gun unless someone fires it. That in no way implies that you are not free to own or use the it.

In other words, sex was created specifically for procreation but has evolved into the use for pleasure. Because of this we tend to forget that we can and will get pregnant when we have sex and we focus more on the pleasure.

Sex by itself is not evil, bad or negative. It is the responsibility if those having sex to protect themselves not only against unwanted pregnancy but disease as well. In conclusion the ultimate responsibility is with the couple. The act itself cannot be blamed.