I remember in the 60s Ctaholic doctors would not give married Catholic women birth control. They alwasy promoted Natural Family planning. Natural family Planning works well if you want more children, but is very ineffecive if you want to plan your family.

There's not surprise here. In countries where abortion and contraception is is banned there are more maternal deaths from both child bearing and illegal abortions. They just cannot learn from the past. The "purity inquisitors" just want control and have a callous disregard for women's health and lives.

Such a cozy phrase.

What's the difference between a stranger in an alley hitting a woman to force her to have sex and a woman's husband hitting her to force her to have sex!

When women control their own bodies, everyone benefits.

Such a cozy phrase.

What's the difference between a stranger in an alley hitting a woman to force her to have sex and a woman's husband hitting her to force her to have sex!

When women control their own bodies, everyone benefits.

When was Mayor Atienza elected and what did he say about his intentions before he was elected? Because, the article says this order went into effect in 2000 and, although it stopped short of a ban, had the efffect of one.

I admit I haven't kept up with the situation in the Philippenes but if women (and men) voted for this man knowing he was going to issue this thing and are now shocked, shocked, that it resulted in the loss of access to birth control - I'll say the same thing I say to women who voted for Bush and now are screaming that they got Roberts and Alito on the Supreme Court and gee, they don't like their stands on privacy and think Roe may be going. Should have thought of it before. Votes actually DO matter.

The "purity inquisitors" just want control and have a callous disregard for women's health and lives.

It has always struck me as an insidious form of doublethink for people to refer to these measures as promoting a "Culture of Life". Rampant childbirth will invariably lead to more children going malnourished, undereducated, and without adequate healthcare due to the law of averages. A family on a fixed income adding more children to the mix will have less to spread around. Witnessing domestic violence inflicted by fathers on their mothers who have abstained from sex as the only available method to stop additional pregnancies will have a terrible psychological toll on these children as well. Exactly what is the endgame here? A higher birthrate is good regardless of what quality of life people will have? This "Culture of Life" will only result in more preventable deaths.

There is no double think for them, it's just blind obedience. God says multiply, because it's his command it will all work out in the end! Yippeee we are walking fundie zombies, we do not think we just do because bible says.

Natural Family Planning will work because all women will be able to figure it out and their spouses will be respectful about only having sex on certain days!

i am 7th out of 8 children in a Catholic family. My mother and father followed the Catholic Church's "natural family planning." The good thing is they always wanted a big family, but always joked about "Vatican Roulette." Every year on their combined birthday, all us children raise a glass to the Rhythm Control, or as we put it, "a lot of rhythm, no control."

All joking aside, I made sure my birth control came from a doctor, not a celebate Pope.

I'm not sure you agree with me that this is a terrible policy or are disagreeing my opinion. My "purity inquisitors" = the anti choice forces of the Catholic Church who don't give damn about women.

Crazy religious dogma + Denial of human sexuality = Unplanned births.

And that's the Vatican's formula for continued human misery.

Those who seek a natural method of population control will get exactly that - starvation.

- Richard Dawkins

Yes, I was agreeing with you. :) I was just making a further point that these asinine policies are done to promote a "Culture of Life" when in effect, they diminish the *quality* of life for the women and children who have to suffer the fallout from them.

I was really taken by surprise how many women I know voted for Bush not just once but even a second time when it was clear to anyone watching the '04 campaign that he had clearly started pandering to the anti-abortion zealots. I think as generations go by, too many people who weren't around when Roe vs. Wade had come to be law have no comprehension of how hard of a struggle just to attain that right was. That's the thing about any human right that too many people take for granted; There's almost always somebody somewhere trying to take those rights away whether they can be seen or not.

There's a newly released book called THIS COMMON SECRET written by Dr. Susan Wicklund from here in Wisconsin detailing her life's experience as an abortion doctor and while I've always been pro-choice, I have a much greater appreciation for what a woman has been and unfortunately still can be subjected to even in this country where the right to choose all too often seems to come with harrassment, repeated invasions of personal privacy, and even death threats. She even writes about something I have experienced on occasion where some of the most vocal critics that openly protest abortion have no problem establishing a double-standard when they themselves are confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. There's nothing worse than someone walking around with the attidude of "Do as I say but not as I do."

Heck, even C. Everett Koop at least would admit that there had to be sex education and means of birth control and I can remember when he was actively starring in those anti-abortion commercial ads when I was a kid. These days I can't think of even one pro-lifer that can even address the issue with so much as a trace of rational basis and I've had the misfortune of having met plenty. Even one of them is too many for me to put up with these days.