GOP's Attack on Birth Control, Don't Look Now But It's Starting to Effect The Men Too!

It’s long been said that birth control is a woman’s issue. Abortion is a woman’s issue, and family planning, well that too is a woman’s issue. The burden of unwanted pregnancy and child rearing has one too many times fallen directly in the lap of all women across the world. Political parties have squabbled over how to or not to pay for family planning benefits for years. Politicians have run campaigns using the controversial subject of abortion and birth control to sway voters left or right in the direction needed for those extra votes more times in recent years than ever before. The latest attack comes directly from the GOP on birth control.  The idea that the government should take away the funding to help provide contraception to woman is feather ruffling to say the least , but in The Smirking Chimp blog posted by Joshua Holland on Monday March 20^th, he takes the upset to an entirely different level.

Joshua makes the point that not only does this attack effect woman but the men in their lives as well. Although I greatly disagree with some of his points and the way they are presented he has some meat behind his point of this not only being a “woman’s issue” anymore.  From a man’s point of view according to Holland, birth control helps men have more sex, WHAT? Although I am appalled by his brass statement and twist of the issues I believe men would certainly prefer for a woman to “handle” the contraceptive portion of the relationship and disengage from all responsibility. Therefore one could conclude that the absence of availability of birth control due to funding issues and GOP smear campaign toward responsible women who choose to practice sex using oral contraceptives, would mean men would be less fortunate in their pursuits.  

He points to the economic benefits of birth control and quotes the Annie Lowery from the New York Times indicating studies that had shown that allowing women to access to the pill has helped women invest in their futures and careers by delaying unwanted pregnancies and giving them time to grow and better educate themselves. I absolutely agree with Holland on this matter, I would even go as far to say I agree with his next point on how it also furthers the career path of young men.

Holland and I don’t see eye to eye on most of his delivery but we definitely agree this is a universal issue and that men and women alike should be in an uproar about the GOP’s attacks and the following it has engaged against birth control and family planning funding from the government.  We agree that it isn’t just a religious issue and that the entire movement is merely one more way for the right-winged government, I hate eating these words as a die hard Republican, to control another piece of society.  Unfortunately they are seeing the dollar signs they are saving in the budget and not seeing the back street abortions, the over populated low income areas and the malnourished, abused and abandoned children as the final result that will come from taking away the programs and options given to women to help prevent these things.

Yes, your right people can argue that abstinence is always the best option but honestly it’s not the most realistic one.

political cartoon image provided by: http://www.theipinionsjournal.com/