Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/09/14/essay-men-could-eliminate-a.html
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Switching to the new thinner material condoms would probably be a better idea than expecting rational actions from someone on the edge of orgasm.
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News flash: Some people make bad decisions.
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This might be feasible for men and women in the author’s peer group, but unplanned pregnancies most often happen to people with very different life experiences and under much different circumstances. Typical abortions are sought out by unmarried women over age 25 with children, skewing much higher among non-whites. Source: CDC 
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I think the point of the essay isn’t really about the specific steps. It’s to draw attention to the skewed consequences and responsibilty that are placed on women, and how comfortable men are with that arrangement.
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This thread will probably be so well received…
I’ll be over here, off to the side, with snark and a big bucket of popcorn…
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Look at all those replying icons … stacking up so fast.
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Condoms are 96% effective when used perfectly. And the “rythm method” * is not effective birth control. Only about 80% effective at best. In real world conditions condoms are only as about as effective as pulling out.
Even if everything worked as expected. Neithet of these methods would completely eliminate unwanted pregnancy. And a fairly large number of the unwanted pregnancies among people I know. Resulted from relying exclusively on one of those two birth control methods.
Birth control options for men are bad they’re unreliable and situational. Which is why so many people seem to be looking for better ones.
And that’s to say nothing of unwanted pregnancies from unwanted sex.
This seems like a pretty superficial read on the issue. And while it might be fun to point out that if you’re opposed to abortion, that effective birth control is a pretty good way to reduce them. Thats a well established fact that the anti-choice crowd has long refused to accept. And importantly. They’re also opposed to condoms, and in many cases pulling out. Sex only for procreation, male masturbation is killing your children by the millions and all that.
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I read Ms Blair’s thread and found nearly everything to be completely spot on. I think the crux here is when male law makers are clamoring about abortion rights with their left hand and then pointing at insurance coverage of birth control for women they very obviously run smack into “Hey asshole…you are ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT TRYING TO CONTROL WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.”
Getting them not only to see that truth but then getting them to change their mindset/thinking…well…let’s just say that’s not a realistic goal.
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It feels a bit like rich white gay men scolding other gays about condom use. Yes, we could essentially stop AIDS in three months if everyone did a few basic steps, but both partners bear some responsibility in decisions around consensual safer sex.
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I’m fairly certain that the author doesn’t want to eliminate abortion. I think it’s really just asking men to take more responsibilty for their part in birth control.
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It takes two to tango and while I firmly believe the man should take responsibility for his actions, the woman has the same responsibility.
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Getting 100% compliance is a pipe dream because a) people like to fuck, b) people often times fuck on a whim or while inebriated c) people are already horrible at understanding long term consequence, you throw in hormones (whose sole job is to get you to procreate) and even intelligent people can ignore rational thought d) many people aren’t intelligent nor use rational thought at the best of times.
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Want to practically reduce abortions? As the article states, condoms are a great way. Hell even properly pulling out will give you nearly as good of odds. Even better is to have free and accessible birth control that doesn’t require any direct action. That is the pill is nice, but people forget. IUDs, implants, etc. Colorado’s program has has marked success at the reduction of teen pregnancy. ETA - also more and better education programs.
This reminds me, years ago I read about an Indian researcher who came up with a technique that seemed both effective and reversible. It involved injecting something into the vans deferens (sp) I believe. Wonder what ever became of that.
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If it was a 50-50 risk of who got pregnant, male birth-control pills would be on the shelves yesterday.
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Agreed.
A couple of other options for decreasing the necessity for abortions that the so called pro-life crowd never seem want to consider:
- Accurate, informative sex ed in schools
- More easy access to low cost birth control and contraceptive aids
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The analogy is eliminating HIV infection and eliminating unwanted pregnancies. And yes, men should take more responsibility around condom use, but if his partner consents to sex without a condom, that partner had consented to the risk of HIV, pregnancy, etc. If they don’t consent, then it’s an assault.
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Maybe not them, but if a few men change their mindset now, maybe something can change.
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Science-based sex education is also pretty good for that. The fact that most of the people that are against legal and safe abortions are also against sex education tells me that for them ideological purity trumps compassion.
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again…THIS THIS THIS.
As it stands right now, every and yes I do mean EVERY SINGLE MALE in the entire world who is sexually active with women would gladly and without question NEVER think twice about birth control if they didn’t absolutely have to. As it stands today only an overwhelming majority completely abdicates it and doesn’t think twice/care about it leaving a very small number of men giving a fuck (pun intended).
And while there are some women who willingly take on that responsibility fully (my spouse said to the OBGYN after our third child…I don’t give a damn what he does, you make it so I never get pregnant again - in response to tubal ligation vs vasectomy). But this is of course in the vacuum of a committed relationship where both parties had a say and discussed the options and made a choice together. Again…the overwhelming majority of men make a simple choice “Well that’s on her” when it comes to pregnancy. Then a group of old white men in some elected position start getting their panties in a bunch about either woman having abortions, or the idea that insurance and employers must provide birth control coverage; or both.
Even when these guys are not committing an act of sexual assault…they are still trying to dominate, control and fuck over as many women as they can.
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