Let’s talk about sex. More specifically, let’s talk about contraception.
Recently, the subject of contraception has become a tricky one. Under the original wording of the Affordable Care Act, all employers would be required to cover birth control as part of their health care coverage. Naturally, there was uproar.
Churches protested, claiming that forcing them to cover birth control was an infringement of their freedom of religion rights. I guess Viagra is just holy enough to be looked over.
Here’s my point: There seems to be a consensus amongst the religious right that abstinence is more effective than any birth control, and they push that view onto their constituents. Given the large amount of data indicating that contraception lowers the birth rate among teenagers, this is completely irresponsible and backward on their part.
Case in point: According to MSNBC, the teen pregnancy rate in New York City has dropped 27 percent in the last decade. Why is this? The reason is twofold. One, teenagers are waiting longer to have sex. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. NYC has a program called CATCH which provides reproductive health services to students throughout the city. This program has helped give free contraception to students who would otherwise go without.
But naturally, all of the parents must abhor this program, right?
Just the opposite. Parents are notified when their students receive the contraception, and they are given the option to opt out of the program. Only 1-2 percent of parents do.
Here’s the question. When did religious beliefs become scientific facts? When did dogmatic values become worthy of legislation? This contraception debate is just a small part of a larger problem in America right now.
Freedom of religion is not the same as freedom to impose religion.
In Missouri’s state legislature, there is currently a bill being proposed that would insert creationism into public school science curriculums. If creationism is a belief that a family subscribes to, then, by all means, let them teach it in their home. But the moment the belief of the minority is forced upon all, something has gone very wrong.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., recently called upon the Republican Party to stop being “the stupid party.” What does that mean? My interpretation involves issues just like this. Being conservative does not mean you’re Christian, and being Christian does not mean that you’re required to lobby for your beliefs to be legislated. Conservative principles include a dislike of big government, a desire for decreased spending and the chase after less government involvement in the average citizen’s everyday life.
Which leads me to wonder: why are conservatives calling for restrictions on contraception, restrictions on abortion and restrictions on immigration?
Something is rotten in America, and it needs to be fixed soon. An intelligent, revitalized conservatism is so badly needed in American politics, but pushing for creationism in schools isn’t going to help its recovery. The time for Reagan-style politics is over, and the first step is to stop senseless arguments against scientific truth.
Contraception works. It’s time we call upon our religious institutions and our politicians to accept that fact. We need to stop letting groups of old white men put in place ideas and legislation that harm women and minorities everywhere. The minority is now the majority. It’s time to use our voice.