It’s amazing when you type ‘contraception’ into Google just how may different views and opinions it brings up, should we kill life was one result on the search page that stood out while another was simple stated and headlined that it was against the Bible’s teaching. It brings me back to my school days when my RE teacher would lecture us on the pros and cons of contraception and how we should all keep an open mind, ‘’do whatever is best for your body’’ I remember her saying. So why are there so many different views on it? Can’t we all just keep an open mind?
Unfortunately, the real world is not like the cozy classroom environment you grew up in, the whole idea of having an open mind doesn’t really work as everyone likes to think they are right and if you disagree then you’re just plain wrong, out on your own shouting like a mad man.
So what is the big deal with contraception, why so many different beliefs about something you want to do with your body? Well, let’s take a quick history lesson shall we? Before modern science there was a time when almost all people believed in the almighty creator of the earth ‘God’ (or gods, depending on religion), he created earth in 7 days (according to Genesis) and brought life upon it. I’m sure you guys heard it all before. Back in the early centuries (before the era of modern science) people would worship and obey the rules of their religion, and the ruling for women was not to mess with their body or bad things would happen. These rules governed the actions of the people, and it was this way for many hundreds of years. Fast forward to the woman’s movement in the 20th century and the time of the suffragettes coincided with the development of new health technology, specifically, contraception was created. The whole ideal of contraception didn’t really take off until the birth control pill in 1960s – the era of free love or, to use the more emotive term, ‘the swinging 60s’. Yes, contraception was seen as a way to have ‘risk free sex’ and gave women sexual freedom, at least until the 1980s when HIV became prominent and people took a step back and realized that ‘risk free sex’ might in fact be a little more complex. With AIDS being such a serious problem, condoms became a popular contraceptive method for their ability to prevent the spread of STDs in addition to avoiding unwanted pregnancies.
So this brings me back to my original point, why can’t we keep an open mind on contraception? Simply because there are some religious people who still value their biblical rules above what science has proven and like to think that women should never mess with their body as it could be a sign of going against ‘god’s will’. To them, the idea of birth control is simply a violation of nature.
I think in modern times, if a man and women love each other but decide to violate nature, ie. choose not to have children (or to postpone it) then that is their own personal choice and they should have free will of their body. After all, at the heart of the matter is ‘love’.
