All posts Is free birth control a good thing?
10/8/2012 9:54:46 AM
By Carmen Fowler LaBerge with Scott Lamb
The Associated Press reported recently on the results of a study which tracked the results of giving free birth control to the poor or uninsured.
Having tracked 9,000 women in the St. Louis area, the results show a significant cause-and-effect relationship between teen pregnancy rates and the free distribution of birth control.
There were 6.5 births per 1,000 teenagers in the study, as compared to the national rate of 34 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2010.
Abortion rates were lower as well. There were 4.4 to 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women in the study, compared with 13.4 to 17 abortions per 1,000 women overall in the St. Louis metro area.
While there seems little to debate regarding the conclusions of the study, (free birth control distribution works to lower teen pregnancy and abortion), this hardly ends all debate on the matter.
To be sure, the pragmatic success on reducing abortion leads some to see free contraception distribution as the most logical (and moral) option for society. As Dr. James T. Breeden, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said, “I would think that if you were against abortions, you would be 100 percent for contraception access.”
A few counter-arguments:
Greater license. What change in sexual behavior will occur in a population when supplied with free birth control? Unintended pregnancy is not the only consequence of sexual behavior; birth control does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Taking the fear of pregnancy out of the equation will inevitably lead to riskier sexual behavior and higher rates of STD.
The role of the government. Though this may be a “too little, too late” argument, we should always be willing to ask the question – Does the U.S. government really have either a Constitutional mandate or moral obligation to provide no-cost birth control for its citizenry?
Religious freedom. Under President Obama’s health care plan, workplace health plans must provide no-cost birth control for many women. But what about religious institutions – churches, schools, hospitals? Will there be an opt-out provision for these institutions, so as not to force them to violate their religious beliefs in this matter? Dozens of institutions have already filed lawsuits challenging the contraception mandate.
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Looking at this issue through the lens of the Gospel, we know that there are even deeper issues at stake – concerns that legislation and court decisions cannot address.
Sexuality is always a Gospel issue – a matter of the heart and one’s relationship to his or her Creator.
Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19).
Writing to Christians who have God’s life-giving presence in them, Paul writes:
“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy” (Romans 13:13),
and:
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13),
and:
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).
The New Testament provides clear instruction for Christians to refrain from sexual immorality. With this command comes the assumption that, apart from the Lordship of Christ in one’s life, there isn’t really going to be a compelling reason to do so.
Therefore, whatever the governmental policies might be regarding free contraception, abortion, and the like, Christians must not forget that at the heart of these issues is the individual heart. Yes, free contraception might prevent pregnancy (which could prevent another evil, namely abortion), but pregnancy prevention is not the same thing as Christian salvation.
There is a freedom from sexual sin (the act itself as well as the consequences) that only comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Government policies – whether wise or foolish – cannot thwart that reality.