National Back Up Your Birth Control Day
Lisa on Mar 20th 2007
Today is the 6th National Back Up Your Birth Control Day of Activism. The 2007 Day of Activism is dedicated to spreading the word to teens about emergency contraception (EC) as a safe and effective method of back up birth control. Efforts this year will address the new ‘dual-label’ environment, in which adults no longer need a prescription to obtain EC, but teens younger than 18 do. The campaign will continue the longstanding tradition of EC education and outreach through provider and public education, and policy debates about EC. Family Pride is proud to be a co-sponsor of this campaign to spread awareness about EC and the misinformation surrounding it. (Click here for the facts about EC.)
Why, you may wonder, are issues like birth control and choice important for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ)-headed families? As it turns out, the connection between reproductive freedom and sexual freedom are deep and intertwining. The 1973 Roe v Wade decision established a right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th amendment…. that same right to privacy served as the precedent in the 2003 Lawrence v Texas decision which declared that same-sex relations between consenting adults shall no longer by criminalized.
Reproductive choice and family equality are also connected by the fact that complete accessibility to healthcare (whether it be annual exams or access to EC) is an issue that affects everyone. Having full autonomy over your own body includes the right to make your own choices about healthcare and sexual decisions (which also has a huge impact on how the LGBTQ community creates families).
So, what can you do? Everyone can make a difference- here are a few ways to take action:
• Visit your local pharmacy to see if they stock and willingly dispense EC. If they don’t, find out which ones do, and create a list to share with teens you know.
• Write a letter to the editor highlighting the real facts about EC.
• Start a discussion in your local parents group around why access to all available medical options is important to everyone.
• Visit www.backupyourbirthcontrol.org for more great tips.
Supporting reproductive freedom and choice are a core part of Family Pride’s work. We believe in the freedom of a just society to define our own families—to stand proudly with the people closest to us in our lives and be able to say, “because of who you are, what you mean to me, how we treat each other and our deep commitment to one another, we are a family.”
I don’t think it’s completely safe. Their are side-effects, and unknown long-term effects. Nonetheless, the “day-after-pill” might be better than giving birth to an unwanted child.
You might like the Activism Forums.
irvine implants breast breast implants high