The Pill: Good
Posted by Caleb O. Brown on December 5th, 2007 in economics, liberty, louisville, religion |
Morgan writes:
Dr. Albert Molher, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary here in Louisville, stated, “By any estimation, the Pill, in all of its forms, has led to a radical transformation of America’s moral landscape. It has facilitated extramarital and premarital sex on a scale unprecedented in human history.”
Artificial contraception leads people to view their body as mere instruments. I believe that to sever the act of reproduction from sex altogether is profoundly anti-humanistic. This is a mentality we must change.
Not to be an uppity feminist here, but what the heck is wrong with me thinking of my body as an instrument? Separating the act of sex from reproduction has some pretty obvious benefits for everyone involved, the most important of which is liberating women from the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.
The pill has given women unprecedented control over their own lives. It’s no coincidence that female participation in the workforce rises dramatically with use of oral contraception.
I’d love to agree with Al Mohler on something … anything, really. I just can’t see how he can believe that giving a woman greater control over her own bells and whistles really amounts to nothing more than a radical, presumably negative, “transformation of the moral landscape.”
The fact that the pill has facilitated better family planning and fewer unwanted pregnancies, I hope, isn’t a trifle for people like Mohler or our own Morgan. Personal liberty implies allowing free people to use new technologies however they wish, as painful as that might be to our delicate sensibilities.
3 Responses
I feel like your vision on this issue is a bit shortsighted.
While it’s true that contraception gives women the ability to pursue more things outside of the family unit, it is also true that the use of contraception is simultaneously weakening the family unit, which is a foundational component of any healthy society.
There is no doubt that The Pill opened the door to a whole list of socially detrimental acts. Because contraception has given humans the ability to have sex without the risk of pregnancy, it has caused humans to view the act of sex more flippantly. This is obvious anytime you look at a TV, a magazine, or turn on the radio.
Statistics show that since The Pill hit the shelves extramarital affairs and premarital sex have greatly increased, not to mention the divorce rates and depression in women.
The most popular lecture on this issue is given by Dr. Janet Smith and it is entitled, “Contraception: Why not?”
In the lecture, Dr. Smith discusses how since the pill has become more and more available, divorce has become more and more popular. She also discusses how ever since contraceptives have arrived on the scene, there is much more adultery than there ever was before.
Dr. Smith says:
“People have been tempted, for the history of mankind. It’s easy enough to think about wanting to have an affair, but wanting a child out of wedlock is another story. But if most every woman is contracepting, then most every woman is available in a certain sense and there is no real reason to say no. Adultery is absolutely devastating to marriages.”
The full lecture can be found here:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html
I first listened to it about two years ago and it really impacted the way I think about contraception.
I believe that the way many Americans view sex today is anti-family and I think it’s evident that birth control has been a huge part of that mentality. Sex is more than a simple act of pleasure, it has moral consequences. To enable people to have “consequence-free sex” is impossible; and by teaching teens that sex can be virtually consequence-free simply by using a pill is misleading at best.
Once again, let me make clear that I would in no way encourage any type of governmental intervention in the matter; rather, I am simply encouraging people to consider the moral, cultural, and social implications of using the drug.
Also, to address something else you said, I agree with you that women are free to use new technologies however they see fit. However, I am just as free to talk to those women about the evidence which reveals that the new technology they’re using is harming their bodies, their relationships, and the society at large.
Morgan, saying that divorce rates have gone up since the pill is like saying that the temperature has dropped precipitously since the Writer’s Guild strike began. Is that statement true? Yes. Is there a correlation? In my example, clearly no. In yours? Eh, not so clear.
Using statistics is not always as simple as it may seem, especially if the correlation doesn’t necessarily bear your point out.
It is also laughable that you can on the one hand sit and harshly criticize “new technologies” and then refuse to do anything about these morality-killers but write on your blog.
Having to be consistent in not calling for government intervention must really stink sometimes.
PS: What are the “moral” views expressed here based upon?
“and then refuse to do anything about these morality-killers but write on your blog.”
As opposed to what?