Lets Talk About Contraceptives

We've all seen it plastered all over the media, women being discriminated against and ridiculed for their choice in how they take care of their bodies. I have seen some outrageous sexist views in the media such as Hobby Lobby claiming they fight for religious freedom while they press their views and opinions upon their female employees, or when a certain politician made the biggest mistake of his life explaining that during a rape women can just shut down their organs so they don't end up getting pregnant. It never ceases to amaze me and how frightened our society is of women sexuality.

So let's get down to it women take birth control for a variety of reasons some are in fact medical necessities; others are simply because they do not wish to venture down the road of motherhood and wish to practice safer sex habits, cause lets face it condoms aren't always effective. I think in a mainly male dominated society the norm is that men are the sexual deviants and are the only ones allowed to go forth and plant their seed, but is anything said if a man tries to prevent being a father by using a condom...not hardly. In the eyes of some religious groups women who use birth control are sometimes seen as playing God because they are preventing a life from being created. But look at it this way would you want an unprepared woman to become a mother and then hear about how she left her child in a hot car, or left him/her wrapped tightly in a blanket cause she just didn't want to deal with him/her? No then you would be ready to throw that woman in jail and take her child away from her. Well I think it's wise that women are being proactive about birth control cause lets face facts not all women are meant to be mothers.

Here are some of the medical reasons for taking birth control.

• Some women have heavy periods and can cause severe pain and cramping and take birth control in order to alleviate that pain. When you take birth control you are controlling when you have a period and in fact aren't having a true period where you experience extreme cramping and bleeding and one pill out there even cuts your period down to four times a year and can reduce your time on your period from 7 days to possibly 3.

• Women also take the pill to get relief from their endometriosis. With this condition the uterine lining grows in other areas of the pelvis and can lead to a multitude of things from severe pain to infertility. What the pill does is prevent this from happening.

• Another reason is PMS relief. Every woman's period is different and no two women are the same so there are a variety of pills out there that help with whichever symptom each woman is having issues with, from bloating to fluid reduction there is a pill out there to help.

• One interesting thing I uncovered was that taking the pill can help lower a woman's chance of getting endometrial and ovarian cancer. Here is a website that explains all about the reduced risk of ovarian cancer; however your risk of breast cancer increases: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives

This graph illustrates the decline in teen pregnancy from 1991-2012 and it isn't completely known as to why there is a decline, but according to the CDC website, "In 2012, a total of 305,388 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a live birth rate of 29.4 per 1,000 women in this age group.This is a record low for U.S. teens in this age group, and a drop of 6% from 2011. Birth rates fell 8% for women aged 15–17 years, and 5% for women aged 18–19 years. While reasons for the declines are not clear, teens seem to be less sexually active, and more of those who are sexually active seem to be using birth control than in previous years." http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/aboutteenpreg.htm

So by teens practicing safe sex acts the amount of 'babies making babies' has been declining. Now I would say that is a win right there for birth control and for smart parents teaching their kids to practice safe sex habits. These parents realized there is no stopping their kids from having sex all they can do is talk to them about sex and educate them on safer sex. As humans we are sexual creatures and I think this controversy with birth control isn't about how it prevents pregnancies, but how it illustrates that women are sexual beings. Does this make them sluts? No. Does this mean they are asking to get raped cause they are prepared? No. they are exploring their sexuality and want to safely.

So does our society fear the sexual woman, or are they fighting legitimate fights for the good of their cause? Personally I wouldn't want my employer to tell me whether or not I can use birth control, nor would I want my government to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. Women are going to be sexual and men just need to get over the fact that the age of sexual women is coming. This doesn't mean we are asking for it, nor does it mean that every night the possibility of a one night stand lies in your future. But we should be allowed to be sexual without the fear of being labeled as a slut or worse. We should also be free to take whatever contraceptives we want in order to indulge in our sexual appetite. Just because a religious group believes this age of women is promiscuous and asking to be raped doesn't condone the prejudice these women receive.

I have been guilty of labeling women who act in a way I wouldn't with men, but I have learned the error of my ways and strive to fight for all rights of women, even if I don't agree with their life style. That is not my choice to make, their choice of living has no direct effect on me so why should I make it a spectacle when they want to manage their bodies their own way. It's very hypocritical of some groups to claim religious freedom when they themselves are pressing their beliefs onto others. I understand that they want to have their right to not use birth control, but to their employees who don't practice those same beliefs they are doing to them, the exact thing they are fighting against.