catholic contraception . . .

One wonders why contraception, which not only allows a full spectrum of family planning but surely also leads to a lower incidence of abortion (a supposed goal of all involved in the pro-choice discussion), has suddenly taken on such urgency by the old men who run the Catholic Church. Lisa Miller in the Washington Post On Faith section discusses this threat.

By conflating abortion and contraception in their rhetoric, and putting both in their sights, the ideologues in this new war are rolling back decades of medical and social progress and reverting to an era when all gynecological and obstetrical matters were yucky and bad — what my grandfather used to call “female trouble.” In an editorial this week in the Washington Examiner, Republican hopeful Rick Santorum used the words “abortion,” “contraceptive” and “sterilization” in the same sentence, as if they were interchangeable...

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is arguing for a wider conscience exemption, saying women who want birth control can go out and get it on their own; the White House has indicated that it may be willing to deal.

But to hold the consciences of a few powerful men over the private needs of families, to push this problem back onto individuals in an economy where women are already carrying an enormous load, is not just unfair. It is unconscionable.