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gmonkey42Several times in the past few weeks, I've come across the argument that there's no inherent contradiction in being opposed to both abortion and sex-ed/birth control. To me, the contradiction is obvious, as I'll explain in detail below. Whenever I ask the people who believe it isn't why it isn't, I never get an answer. I either get no response at all or a response that baselessly attacks my position, failing completely to support their own position or to back up their accusations that my position is "ridiculous" and "irrational." It doesn't do one's side much good to call the other side's argument irrational and then run away with one's hands covering one's ears when they ask what's irrational about it.
Here's why it doesn't make sense to be opposed to both abortion and sex education and birth control:
1. Sex education and an increase in the availability of birth control both reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. Some people may think sex-ed encourages young people to have sex but statistically valid studies support the opposite conclusion. In one study, for example, college students who had taken a pledge not to have sex before marriage were more likely than other students to have unprotected sex. The researchers speculated that this was because the students who'd taken the pledge were less likely to carry condoms. The pledge did not prevent these people from having sex, nor did the risk of disease and unwanted pregnancy. No matter how much we tell people that sex is bad, they're going to do it anyway. That's not moral relativism, that's acknowledging a fact of nature.
2. Making something illegal doesn't mean nobody's ever going to do it. For example, rape is illegal but it still happens a whole lot. That's why we take steps beyond making it illegal to reduce the incidence, including women's self-defense classes, programs to educate young men and efforts to make our culture more respectful of women's human rights. Similarly, it would make sense for people against abortion to try to stop it at the root, by helping to prevent unwanted pregnancy as much as possible. Abortion was illegal for a period and we know people still got abortions.
3. If it's true that (1) lack of access to sex-ed/birth control results in more unwanted pregnancies and (2) more unwanted pregnancies result in more abortions, then how does the anti-abortion/sex-ed/BC argument make any sense?
I can understand some of the specifics: for example, some people believe (against medical facts) that the Pill is the same as abortion. Given that they believe that, I understand why their position isn't self-contradictory in that regard. The problem is that I've never heard of anyone who's against abortion and the Pill who isn't also against sex-ed and other forms of birth control, such as condoms, that can't by any stretch of the imagination be considered abortion. If a person is against abortion, I don't see any reason not to be in favor of condoms.
If I were against abortion then I'd be strongly in favor of condom use. I'd be pushing for federal funding to make condoms free for anyone who wanted them. I'd want vasectomy/tubal ligation to be available for anyone who wanted it. I'd want to see nationwide education programs to encourage people to use birth control and use it correctly. In real life, most of the people who are against abortion seem to take exactly the opposite stance.
So explain it to me.
Here's why it doesn't make sense to be opposed to both abortion and sex education and birth control:
1. Sex education and an increase in the availability of birth control both reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. Some people may think sex-ed encourages young people to have sex but statistically valid studies support the opposite conclusion. In one study, for example, college students who had taken a pledge not to have sex before marriage were more likely than other students to have unprotected sex. The researchers speculated that this was because the students who'd taken the pledge were less likely to carry condoms. The pledge did not prevent these people from having sex, nor did the risk of disease and unwanted pregnancy. No matter how much we tell people that sex is bad, they're going to do it anyway. That's not moral relativism, that's acknowledging a fact of nature.
2. Making something illegal doesn't mean nobody's ever going to do it. For example, rape is illegal but it still happens a whole lot. That's why we take steps beyond making it illegal to reduce the incidence, including women's self-defense classes, programs to educate young men and efforts to make our culture more respectful of women's human rights. Similarly, it would make sense for people against abortion to try to stop it at the root, by helping to prevent unwanted pregnancy as much as possible. Abortion was illegal for a period and we know people still got abortions.
3. If it's true that (1) lack of access to sex-ed/birth control results in more unwanted pregnancies and (2) more unwanted pregnancies result in more abortions, then how does the anti-abortion/sex-ed/BC argument make any sense?
I can understand some of the specifics: for example, some people believe (against medical facts) that the Pill is the same as abortion. Given that they believe that, I understand why their position isn't self-contradictory in that regard. The problem is that I've never heard of anyone who's against abortion and the Pill who isn't also against sex-ed and other forms of birth control, such as condoms, that can't by any stretch of the imagination be considered abortion. If a person is against abortion, I don't see any reason not to be in favor of condoms.
If I were against abortion then I'd be strongly in favor of condom use. I'd be pushing for federal funding to make condoms free for anyone who wanted them. I'd want vasectomy/tubal ligation to be available for anyone who wanted it. I'd want to see nationwide education programs to encourage people to use birth control and use it correctly. In real life, most of the people who are against abortion seem to take exactly the opposite stance.
So explain it to me.
