Emboldened by the anti-abortion movement's success in restricting access to abortion, an increasingly vocal group of Christian conservatives is arguing that it's time to mount a concerted attack on contraception.
Their voices were raised in Rosemont on Friday and Saturday at an unusual anti-abortion meeting that drew 250 people from around the nation to condemn artificial birth control. Experts at the gathering assailed contraception on the grounds that it devalues children, harms relationships between men and women, promotes sexual promiscuity and leads to falling birth rates, among social ills.
"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.
OK, now I have to take a break so you can absorb the stunning level of dumbassedness of that statement by Joseph Scheidler. Contraception causes abortion. Something designed to PREVENT CONCEPTION causes abortion. Got that? That's what we're dealing with, folks -- this is the Republican base.
All right, let's continue:
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."
Whether or not Mohler is right about young people, the sympathetic sentiments of a key leader in the nation's largest Protestant denomination adds fuel to the debate.
"I think it's great that more pro-life people are finally speaking up about it," said Helen Mazur, 27, who flew in from Philadelphia with her husband for the conference, called "Contraception is Not the Answer."
"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," Mazur said.
"It's new to some aspects of the pro-life world, and it's old news in other parts of the pro-life world. It's just beginning to be embraced more fully by the whole pro-life world," said Mary Turner, 42, of La Crosse, Wis.
Do we really want morons like this deciding policy on anything, let alone deciding what other people can do with their bodies?
98% of women report using contraception. 91% believe in access to contraception.
Now consider this: Funding for family planning programs has already been cut to the bone. If Republican Congressional leaders kowtow to their demands (and there's no reason to believe they won't), then access to contraception will be virtually eliminated for poor women (and men). The result will be more unwanted pregnancies for women too poor to afford the babies that Republicans and these so-called Christians want to force them to have.
Here, from the same article, is Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, insisting that chemical contraception is the same as abortion:
Chemical contraception doesn't prevent abortions, it causes abortion," he said in an interview. "If we believe life begins at the moment of conception, we have to defend it against [this] chemical attack."
Euteneuer was referring to the possibility that hormonal birth control, including the pill, the patch, injections and some IUDs, might prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a womb. Scientific evidence suggests that this occurs infrequently, if at all, and that birth control works primarily by preventing a woman from ovulating.
But there is no way to prove that interference with implantation doesn't occur, which disturbs anti-abortion supporters.
Now that's the scary part. I've been making the point for years that the logical extension of this is requiring women to send their used sanitary products to authorities for microscopic examination, and prosecution if fertilized eggs are found on them. Because since up to 40% of fertilized eggs never implant for any number of reasons, the minute you decide that a fertilized egg is the same as a person, you open up that door, as preposterous as it sounds.
Pam reported on Friday on these people who want to control YOUR body in the name of "protecting marriage" and "human life":
Porn: Promoted, Not Accepted. AgapePress is trumpeting the latest Harris poll, which was commissioned by Morality in Media. According to this survey, 73% of U.S. adults disapprove of viewing pornographic websites.
When posed with the question: “Do you consider it to be morally acceptable to view pornographic websites and videos?” — 21 percent of the 997 respondents said “yes,” 73 percent said “no,” 4 percent said “not sure,” and 2 percent refused to answer. Findings also revealed that older female Americans are more likely to consider viewing pornography unacceptable, whereas younger male Americans are more likely to consider it acceptable. “It is disturbing that so many younger males think it is morally acceptable to view pornography,” said Robert W. Peters, president of Morality in Media. “Since males are vulnerable to visual depictions of sex, however, perhaps it should not come as a surprise.”
So does this mean that the 21% are responsible for all that porn consumption out there? And if so, what slice of it is all those fundies who watch porn in hotel pay-per-view? Maybe the 73% disagree because they need to flog themselves after surfing to XXX.com sites. After all, a recent ChristiaNet Poll found that a whole lot of good evangelicals are ordering up porn and participating in “sexual sin,” including — shock! — the leaders of the flock.
The people who struggle with the repeated pursuit of sexual gratification include church members, deacons, staff, and yes, even clergy. And, to the surprise of many, a large number of women in the church have become victim to this widespread problem. Recently, the world’s most visited Christian website, ChristiaNet.com, conducted a survey asking site visitors eleven questions about their personal sexual conduct. (http://www.christianet.com) …”The poll results indicate that 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography,” said Clay Jones, founder and President of Second Glance Ministries whose ministry objectives include providing people with information which will enable them to fully understand the impact of today’s societal issues. 60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust; 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.
As we say here all the time, these are the folks who fixate on your sexual proclivities because they have sex on the brain to such a degree that it turns into a pathology.
Mote, beam, eye, etc.
I am 51 years old and haven't had a period since July 2005. This issue no longer affects me. But I know that there are people who read this blog who are younger, or who are male. If you are a women who hasn't reached menopause, or are a straight male, this issue affects you. It's time to wake up, stop saying "Oh, they'll never go that far", and realize that oh yes, they will. And they are. Right now. And if you don't believe me, ask The Biting Beaver about her experience trying to get Emergency Contraception in rural Ohio.
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