Kesher Talk

"I Spent My Last $10 on Birth Control and Beer..." No one in the blog debate on men and birth control has acknowledged that NO form of reversible birth control is 100% effective, or that many women have unpleasant physical reactions to the pill or are allergic to the sperm-killer in the sponge (which isn't available anymore anyway) or condoms. Vasectomies and tubal ligations reverse themselves (rarely, but it's happened). Condoms break.

Abortions, even safe early ones, are surgery. They aren't pleasant. They aren't like taking a pill. Even RU-486, which is 2 pills (and which the religious right tried to make sure Americans couldn't get) essentially induces a miscarriage. It's safer than surgery, but sitting on the toilet passing gouts of blood from your vagina is scary and painful.

There are screwed-up women who are so numb to their own bodies (probably addicts of some kind or seriously depressed, or both) who aren't deterred by the unpleasantness of abortion, but your average normal female human being would not use abortion as birth control any more than she wants to get a wisdom tooth pulled every few months.

To sum up, most women don't have abortions just because they can't be bothered with the inconvenience of birth control.

PS An autographed Arafat Baby-wipe to anyone who can identify the source of the title quote.

posted by Judith @ 8/12/2002 02:29:53 PM