More than half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. This morning, NPR Morning Edition posed an important question: why are so many pregnancies unplanned, given the vast number of contraceptive options on the market?
There are a number of different factors at play — cultural influences, ignorance, a lack of access to appropriate medical care.
Dr. Vanessa Cullins, the medical director of Planned Parenthood says, "Consistent and correct use of contraceptives is hard. It should be a responsibility that society shares... correct and consistent condom use requires that women be true to themselves and honest about the fact that they are having sex — if they want to avoid becoming pregnant."
Most interesting part of the piece was the story of Joy Migala, a young woman who became pregnant after having unprotected sex with an ex-boyfriend. Her situation was a classic case of a kind of cognitive dissonance that Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy termed "magical thinking."
"You either say, 'I'm not planning to get pregnant, and therefore I'm going to be very careful,' or, 'I am planning to get pregnant,' " said Brown. "If you are the middle, in a fog and magically thinking, you're planning to get pregnant."
I was struck by the sex-positive and feminist tone of this piece, as well as the vast amount of information in such a short article (check out the contraceptive list — we could all use a refresher). Such a frank discussion of pregnancy and contraception, without blame and moral posturing, is often hard to find.
Photo courtesy of NPR
No comments:
Post a Comment