By Erica Oakley with Humanitas Global Development
Women's right to contraception is a hot and contentious topic these days. The hashing out of issues regarding women's bodies by a group of mostly white men makes me feel like I sunk into the twilight zone and landed in the 1950s.
Contraception is not just a contentious issue in the United States. Around the globe, a woman's right to make choices regarding her body are made by others—her husband, parents, and/or mother-in-law, and at a higher level, politicians. Some of these women—the lucky ones—are able to secretly obtain birth control, if needed, through methods such as injectables or an intrauterine device (IUD). Others are not so lucky.
What no one seems to understand—or take seriously is that the ability for a woman to determine when and how many children she has directly impacts her health, the health of her child, and the financial stability of her family—and ultimately impacts society as a whole. According to a 2011 UNDP Report, the progress made on the 5th Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) which focuses on maternal health has actually decelerated in approximately 77 percent of the countries for which there are indicators. It is apparent that maternal health is an afterthought in tackling the MDGs. Who are the advocates fighting for change?
One advocate, Melinda Gates from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a professed Catholic, used the TED platform to introduce their latest focus: contraception. As stated by Melinda, “This is a life-and-death crisis. Every year, 100,000 women who don’t want to be pregnant die in childbirth. About 600,000 women who don’t want to be pregnant give birth to a baby who dies in her first month of life.”
According to the Gates-funded No Controversy website, these are the FACTS:
- 200 million people worldwide don't have access to contraception.
- Unintended pregnancy is the leading cause of death among teen girls worldwide.
- If all women had access to contraception, 100K maternal deaths would be avoided each year.
- Increasing global access to contraception could reduce newborn deaths by nearly 50%.
- Increased access to contraception has broad benefits, from reducing HIV to improving economies.
When will women get to decide how many children to have and when to have them? When will women be given autonomy over their bodies?
As stated by Gates, “We’re not talking about abortion. We’re not talking about population control. What I’m talking about is giving women the power to save their lives, to save their children’s lives, and to give their families the best possible future.”