Womb Control Patrol: Increasing Anti-Contraception Activity

Tuesday October 17, 2006

_{Image © Austin Cline

Original Poster:
Library of Congress}

The anti-choice movement has made great strides in America. Today it is focused entirely on abortion - the choice which they are determined to eliminate is the ability of women to choose to have an abortion. It is not, however, the only choice they are interested in ending. Logically, politically, and religiously they also seek to end other choices for women and couples in America.

The next major step for the anti-choice movement is attack the availability of contraceptives. Broader legal availability of contraceptives was the major step right before the establishment of the right to abortion — and this is not a coincidence. Both are about the ability of people to determine their future an their sexual behavior independent of both biology and religious tradition. This is what anti-choice zealots which to end.

Unfortunately, many people don't realize that contraception is next on the list after abortion, and that ending legal choice for abortion paves the way for ending choice with contraception.

"Contraception is more the root cause of abortion than anything else," Joseph Scheidler, an anti-abortion veteran whose Pro-Life Action League sponsored the conference, said in an interview.

No one knows how many supporters Scheidler and his colleagues have, but conservative leaders are watching to see if the anti-contraception rhetoric gains traction.

Of special interest is how closely evangelical Christians are willing to align themselves with traditional Catholics on the issue. The Catholic Church long has opposed contraception, but evangelicals generally embraced its use--until recently, some argue.

"It is clear there is a major rethinking going on among evangelicals on this issue, especially among young people" disenchanted with the sexual revolution, said Rev. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "There is a real push back against the contraceptive culture now."

Source: Chicago Tribune

Here are some of the quotes from supporters of the anti-contraceptive position that appear in the article:

"I think it's great that more pro-life people are finally speaking up about it... It's always been a touchy subject, but you have to stand strong on your beliefs. Contraception is the root cause of the explosion of the amount of abortions in the world."
- Helen Mazur, 27, Philadelphia

“It’s time to get serious about denying Planned Parenthood funding for birth control or sex education and abortion. We need to hold them accountable for this contraceptive welfare. We have to work very carefully to keep that sword away from Planned Parenthood…Chemical contraception doesn’t prevent abortions, it causes abortion... If we believe life begins at the moment of conception, we have to defend it against [this] chemical attack.”
- Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International

"If the sex act has nothing to do with a child, then what happens if contraception fails? Abortion becomes a backup for failed contraception, another way of getting rid of the unwanted and devalued child."
- Damon Clarke Owens

“When people use contraception, they’re not asking themselves, do I want a lifetime relationship with this person or would this person be a good parent... They’re simply hooking up, typically because of sex, and sliding into marriage.”
- Janet Smith, professor of moral theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit

“It’s not just a side issue from pro-life, it’s the core issue. Abstinence is the way to prevent abortion.”
-Libby Gray Macke, director of Project Reality, an abstinence program in Illinois

The first stages of pushing the anti-choice movement into more open opposition to contraception are well under way: convincing people that things like emergency contraception are really a form of abortion. This links contraception with abortion more firmly in people's minds. Since there is deep ambivalence about the morality of abortion in people's minds, this will help confuse them about the contraception and make them more open to the argument that contraceptives are immoral.

There are, however, a few things holding the anti-choice movement back. First, some 98% of all women in America between the ages of 15 and 44 use contraceptives of some sort. Contraception is much more deeply ingrained in American culture than abortion and it won't be easy to change people's attitudes towards contraception. This doesn’t mean that the anti-choice zealots won't try, though.

The second major thing holding the zealots back is that not all anti-abortion activists are yet True Believers in the anti-contraception crusade. The numbers of converts seem to be growing over time, but they are still small enough that they haven't been able to divert the movement significantly. Things are changing, though, and we should watch the issue very carefully.

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