Most people who know me know I am pro-life. You know I volunteer weekly as a nurse at the Keim Center, which is the local crisis pregnancy center here in Tidewater. Knowing those 2 things, you can probably conclude that I have very strong opinions on abortion, contraception and sexual health on women of all ages.
In light of that, as I returned home tonight from volunteering, seeing ultrasounds of clients who are considering abortion, medically counselling women who are in crisis pregnancies, I see this article stating that our nation's current administration has just made it OK for women (and children) ages 15 and up to obtain Plan B as an "over the counter" medication. This knowledge breaks my heart. Some you may be thinking, what's so bad about Plan B? Isn't it just the same as birth control? You may be thinking this is a good thing, one more way to prevent teenage pregnancy, one more way to reduce the number of abortions. And, you know, maybe in some instances, it will prevent a pregnancy so that girl(and yes, I used the word girl instead of woman) will not eventually get an abortion, and in some people's eyes, that may be a good things. But I want to present a different perspective on this.
I have only been apart of pro-life ministry for a little over a year so my experience is limited, but even in my limited experience I have learned more than what most people know about birth control, the lack of birth control and the choices girls and women face once their chosen method chooses not to work anymore. I have seen women ranging from ages 12 to upper 40s who are in crisis pregnancies. These women have taught me about life, about heartache, about struggle, about independence, but most of all, these women have shown me that, at no matter what age, we all want the same thing(with a few exceptions). We want love, we seek love in one form or another, young and the not so young all seek after someone to care about them, someone to marry and spend the rest of their lives with. And when that pregnancy happens, it shatters the perfect image they had in their head of what love was suppose to be. Some choose to embrace a new type of love and learn to live with their new reality. Some, however, choose to kill their baby, thinking all will go back to normal, and they can still have that picture perfect life one day with a husband, 2 kids, a house a dog and a white picket fence, but they quickly realize life will never go back to normal.
Ok, back to Plan B as an OTC available to 15 year old girls and why that is a bad thing. Medically, there are a few things I've learned in the past year about teenagers. Maybe TMI, I don't know, one side effect not often talked about of birth control pills is weakening of the cervix. The cervix function is to keep a pregnancy in and to keep infection out. A woman's cervix is not completely developed until age 21( I think, don't quote me on that, but I know it's later teen years if not early 20s). If she is taking birth control from the age of 13, 14, 15 and then taking a medicine which is stronger than birth control(Plan B) she is at a potential risk of weakening her cervix and which can cause miscarriage when she's ready to have children in her 20s and 30s because the cervix never had a chance to fully develop. Another really bad thing about this is that teenagers do not correctly use any type of birth control, ever. (That's a broad generalization but in my experience it's true). I don't think I've met one teenager who uses birth control pills correctly, or uses condoms correctly 100% of the time. So with Plan B, 1 of 2 things could happen. It's over the counter, the teen has for the 10th time chosen not to use a condom, so for the 10th time is using Plan B, exposing herself to the cervical weakening, as well as ectopic pregnancy.Or If the teenager is not using normal birth control correctly, what makes the FDA think she will use Plan B correctly? In my experience, she will not, and will still end up pregnant either seeking an abortion or going to a Crisis Pregnancy Center hopefully getting the help she needs.
Medical stuff aside, my heart is broken for the message that is being sent to teenage girls. It terrifies me to possibly raise a teenage girl in the culture we live in. Making Plan B accessible to 15 year olds without parental knowledge or consent is just one more way to tell a teenage girl to go ahead and have sex with who ever you want, whenever you want, however you want. It says, don't wait for love, definitely don't wait for marriage because who does that anymore? It says don't look for a man to respect you, don't respect yourself because he obviously will not. It says don't chase after your dreams in a healthy way. It says if you make a mistake, here's something to cover up the consequences so no one else has to know. It says don't take responsibility for the choice you made. These are NOT messages I will teach my daughter(or son, whatever this child may be). I want so much to tell the girls who come to the crisis pregnancy center that there is so much more out there than this boy who has broken your heart, so much more out there than this moment of fear, that God has so much more planned than a life mistakes and cover ups. I will teach my daughter (or son) that God wants more for them, that he calls us to more than this world has to offer, that sex in it's right place within marriage is wonderful, but outside eventually leads to nothing but heartbreak and shame. I will teach my daughter to respect herself, and that no man is worth her time if he does not respect her and her choices. I will teach my daughter that if she does mess up, God can still redeem her. She does not need to cover it up with a pill or procedure, but that God can give her a beautiful gift of a child.
I pray every day for our child that, in the world they will grow up in, they will fall in love with God before anyone else and seek after Him. I pray that this overly sexualized, post modern culture does not squealch that belief and faith. I pray that our children will see themselves as God sees them, worth more that a one night stand in the back seat of some guys car, worth more than selling yourself short for a guy who will not call you back or leave you at the first sign of trouble. I pray our children will see themselves how God sees them and protect the very precious gift God has given them and see that true meaning in life is finding their purpose in God, not in the things of this world.
No comments:
Post a Comment