Why would anyone in their right mind be against birth control?

Why are you putting such a loaded question (as we know all too well) in Social rather than in General? I thought we had decided to stop stirring the pot for a while?

For religious reasons.

Is that the only reason do you think @JLeslie?

@gailcalled I think maybe the pot needs stirring a bit at the moment. It’s been on too low a boil after the last spill-over.

I don’t think this question will cause a spill over. I don’t believe anyone on Fluther would argue against birth control. I don’t think. It would be interesting to hear their thoughts, though, if they did.

Only one I know of. Are you including all forms of birth control? Even the Catholics seem ok with avoiding oregnancy with the rhythm method, I include even that as birth cintril. Even though the failure rate is higher than other forms. It still reduces births when practiced well.

I think some people are against giving children contraception, because they feel it encourages them to be sexually active.

Who exactly is against birth control that makes you ask this question?

For example, certain businesses do not want birth control to be a covered option in the insurance they provide for their employees based on “moral” reasons. Why would they do such a thing?

I guess I’m wondering why this is even a current issue.

Key words:

”In their right minds”

@JLeslie “I think some people are against giving children contraception, because they feel it encourages them to be sexually active.”

Yes, and that might be the most ridiculous, illogical reason of all time. Denying contraception to minors possibly encourages teenage, unwed motherhood.

Forbidden sex is the ultimate “attractive nuisance” to kids. The law requires a landowner to install a tall fence and secure gate for any outdoor swimming pool; if children have access to a pool, they’re going to trespass, use the pool without supervision, and drown. Same thing with telling kids to abstain from sex. What adults need to do is eliminate the danger and protect the children.

@Dutchess_III I’m pretty sure the moral reasons are actualy religious reasons. Like not requiring Catholic institutions to cover contraception. I actually am ok with not requiring it. Although, in Europe the Catholic institutuions do. The right wing in America has just made it an issue, a freedom of religion issue, that they can get people riled about. I lean on the side of agreeing it is a freedom of religion issue, but I think the religious right, the Evangelical Protestants, are basically full of crap on the topic. I don’t think the Baptists and Methodists have a problem with contraception, except for some fringe groups. I might be wrong. I have never met a Protestant who didn’t believe in birth control, but I have seen on TV that there are some sects who promote not using it and making mucho babies.

OK SadieMartinPaul but I’m not talking about “children.’ There is a movement on against low income women who are on state medical to be denied free contraception.

But why would they consider it morally ‘wrong’?

@Dutchess_III Because the Republicans don’t want to pay for it. They don’t want to pay taxes, they don’t want to pay for those lazy people who won’t take responsibility for themseves and work. ~

Catholics believe it is immoral to use any sort of method that is a “barrier” so to speak to conception.

People who think it interferes with God’s devine and mysterious plan seem to be the only ones I can think of. Not that I personally know any of them.

The Brady Bunch?

@JLeslie If you aren’t well enough to work you aren’t well enough to have sex?! ;)

“Every sperm is sacred…”

First of all: We give people in this country the freedom to practice their religion. We do not grant them the freedom to impose their religious values on those who do not share their beliefs – because those people have the freedom to practice (or not practice) as they see fit, and one person’s right to swing their fist ends where another person’s face begins.

Secondly: Medical decisions should be made by doctors with their patients’ full informed consent. Not by idiots running their mouths on cable news channels, and certainly not by people who reject science as a life philosophy, and take Bible verses about “go forth and multiply” literally.

Thirdly: It is not the responsibility of poor women to dedicate their bodies to breeding unwanted babies for rich, sterile Americans to adopt. And if you’re at ALL familiar with the foster system, you know what happens to the ones that don’t get adopted: They are shuffled from house to house for their entire lives, then booted out on the street with no support and nowhere to go when they turn 18.

I know our “conservative” bretheren would like to believe that every teenager has two good parents that will double-check their kids’ chastity belts until their wedding night, and every woman in the country is a demure Catholic who deplores sex and allows penetration (while she closes her eyes and thinks of Holy Mother Mary) only to conceive her much-wanted children, but the rest of us live in the real world.

^Preach it, sister. Well said.

I think it’s unnatural. I think taking hormones especially is outrageous. I would never do it. I don’t like messing with my body working properly. And I hate how most is dependant on women. I’m not messing up my hormones so you can stick your dick in my vagina. Ugh.

Condoms are okay for me ethically.

@hug_of_war How do you feel about central air conditioning, and how it affects your body’s ability to regulate its own temperature?

@hug_of_war So, since insulin is a hormone, you wouldn’t take it if you were diabetic?

People need to take responsibility for their actions. If they want to have sex and do not want pregnancy, then they will need birth control. That would be the responsible path. Conservatives always talk about personal responsibility, so should favor birth control (if they did not want to seem hypocritical).

Individuals are against it for all of the above reasons. What they tend to forget is that birth control should be a personal, non-legislated choice.

I find it funny that folks who don’t want anyone telling them what to do with their guns are the same folks that want to tell others what to do with their genitalia.

@hug_of_war Then don’t take it, but other people want to.

@Blondesjon Not true. I don’t ask you to pay for my guns, bullets or anything else related to it. ;)

@Blondesjon I think it is all about the money and less about trying to tell women what to do. As far as covering birth control that is also a freedom of religion thing when it comes to making it mandatory for companies to cover birth control. Catholic organizations might feel like they are being forced to do something immoral. I’m guessing they don’t cover things like vasectomies and tying tubes either, I am not sure. To be consistent it would make senseif they didn’t.

@KNOWITALL . . . I said “non-legislated”.

@JLeslie . . . Never underestimate the power of sexism in this country.

@Blondesjon I think there is some sexism, but the almighty dollar seems stronger to me. Also extremely string is the hate some of the people in the far right have for people they perceive as dissimilar to themselves. That would be gay people, black poor people, maybe all poor people, atheists, people who don’t speak English well, just to name a few.

Do you watch the show Nashville? One singer was caught on tape saying “there is no God” and it is ruining her career. Another singer is gay and is in hiding and disgusted with himself and suicidal. I think it probably represents pretty well how it is to be a country singer in the south and be gay or an atheist. It might be somewhat of an exaggeration, because I think the bible belt actually wouldn’t hate an artist for being gay, just for wanting to be able to get married. And, of course, I don’t mean all southerners, all republicans, or all religious people.

There is the Takers vs Makers debate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/paul-ryan-60-percent-of-a_n_1943073.html

I’m probably a little late on this, but may I chime in?

I’ve asked my mother multiple times to start taking birth control. For one thing my cramps feel like a woodpecker is just going at it on my uterus as if he’s on crack, and they’ve gotten so bad to a point where I vomit, can’t walk, nor go to school. I do have a boyfriend, and we have been together for quite some time, and we have talked about having sex. Neither of us are pressuring each other, because we will know when the time is right. Well, my mother told me to suck it up, down some Pamprin and boys are banned till you’re 36. Typical mom.

Of course I get mad because it helps with acne, calms down the cramps, and oh yeah I forgot to mention wont get me pregnant. But, there are numerous side effects to taking birth control, and since i’m so young it could be even more risky. Blood clots, terrible mood swings, swelling boobs, and probably all the other side effects, myths, and everything else on the label. But, that’s just pills. Nuvaring is dangerous, from what i’ve heard, and other types of birth control like the ring can be very uncomfortable and can cause serious damage to your body diseases.

No before all of you come at my throat with the “you shouldn’t be thinking about sex as a teenager” I’ll have you know, i’m not trying to be on MTV with a crazy boyfriend and drug problem. If I want to have sex now, I want to do it responsibly, which is why I want birth control, and of course contraception and all that. duh

But I guess people would be against birth control in their right minds because of all the side effects and ways it can harm you rather than help you. Also, my parents are devout Catholics, another reason why they’re against birth control. But my moms concern is more about the fact that I want to have sex at 16.

awaits the swords and daggers

I have nothing against birth control.If contraception (the pill) is prescribed for something other than birth control I don’t have an issue with helping pay for it. I know most of the medication used for birth control also has other uses.

But if the only reason you want it is to have fun without risk, then unless you are willing for me to join in that fun, don’t expect me to be happy to pay for it.

@Dutchess_III “OK SadieMartinPaul but I’m not talking about “children.’ There is a movement on against low income women who are on state medical to be denied free contraception.”

I was responding specifically to @JLeslie‘s very valid comment about teenagers, and how some people truly believe that no contraception = no sex.

@JLeslie . . . I’ll happily concede that greed runs the deepest but I still stand firmly on the notion that Obama got the nod instead of Hillary because sexism runs even deeper than racism in this country.

I have never watched Nashville. I am terrified that after one episode iIll be hooked. My Wednesday night viewing is already my Thursday night DVR catch up.

@Blondesjon Nashville is getting more and more ridiculous. More soap opera-y. I’m still hooked though.

Many people would agree with you that Hillary lost because people are more sexist than racist, but I don’t. I ciuld easily be wrong, call me naive. I think the biggest reasons Obama won was because of the Oprah effect (she was talking about him before he ever ran for President) and because people even on the left were disgusted with President Clinton, because they felt he lied and disgraced the office. I also think some people thought it was cool to vote for the black guy, but I think that was much less of a thing.

@blueberry_kid The risk of blood clots for someone your age is extremely low. I never had any changes taking birth control.. My boobs stayed exactly the same, no weight gain, period was the same amount of days. I’m not saying run out and get the pill, condoms are better for protecting you against STD’s (the pill doesn’t give you any protection against STD’s) and I certainly am not pushing you to have sex. Also, you might not like the idea of taking hormones, but they don’t seem to have any negatives long term, women have been taking the pill for many years and many studies have been done. Except, for the extremely very rare instance of the blood coots and other things you mentioned. You probably take medicine when you have a cold that have risk of stroke and other scary things and you don’t bother to know or think about it. Again, I am not trying to convince you, just giving you info. I generally hate taking anything, so I understand that frame if mind.

When I was a teen, girls did not need their mom to get BC pills, it might be different now. You could go to Planned Parenthood and they offered an informative class if your just interested in more information. A girl could get pills inexpensively there. You have to get an exam to get pills though. My doctor, my regular doctor when I was teen, said she would have kept a separate chart that my mom would not have access to for my GYN stuff, but I had told my mom I had started having sex, so it didn’t matter.

In terms of information (especially for you, @blueberry_kid), Bedsider.org is a pretty good resource as to effectiveness, ease of use, expense, and side effects of various methods. There are a few hormonal methods with long-term side effects, I should say, I know that Depo-Provera (‘The Shot’), a generally super-easy and effective measure, carries a heightened risk of osteoporosis as the hormones have an affect on bone density over time, but that’s the most major I know of and is reversible. And as @JLeslie mentioned pretty much all medication has some risk, it’s an issue of cost vs benefit.

I feel offended. I mean @BhacSsylan all the things I said are the things the my gyno told me. I’m just going by her precautions. I mainly just wanted them because I have terrible periods.

I apologize, it wasn’t solely for you but you mentioned being worried by side effects so I thought to give some useful information (and to mention that @JLeslie‘s statement of hormonal not having long-term effects was not quite correct). I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t being responsible. More good information is never a bad thing.

I’ve been married for 11 years and we’ve always used condoms right from the beginning. We just stopped using condoms when we wanted a baby. Now we don’t want one more kid and I don’t mind taking pills too. But he prefers using condom and says it’s easier than messing up with hormones. For my husband I guess it’s a ritual thing now. (It’s always been my understanding from other’s experience and in general that most guys hate wearing condoms)

@BhacSsylan I wasn’t thinking the shot, I don’t like the shot to begin with, I always tell people to take the pill when they consider the shot, unless they really really can’t handle taking the pill. I’m not a doctor as you know, that’s just my own personal opinion about depo.

@blueberry_kid I should clarify that on certain pills women do have lighter periods, my only point was the pill affects everyone differently, and when there is a list of side effects it doesn’t have to mean they will happen to you, many of them are very rare. Have you tried taking 600 mg of ibuprofen for your cramps. Ibuprofen is usually extremely effective. Take it with a glass of water (really almost any liquid, but not with milk and not with citrus) and some food so it doesn’t irritate your stomach. It takes about 50 minutes for it to work, so you have to be patient once you take it to see if it is working. You can take it every six hours and try to stay ahead of the pain.

At the risk of making my husband sound like a total jerk-wad…

I wouldn’t trust him to not “accidentally” fuck up a condom situation. He wants more kids, and the thought of being pregnant again terrifies me.

I don’t think he would intentionally do that to me, but I am paranoid enough to have it constantly in the back of my mind.

For women in much less supportive households, having to hide only one pack of pills and sneak a swallow once a day has got to be better than crossing her fingers and hoping her abusive partner is sterile.