The war on birth control has been fought under many different banners. In some sense, it is an undeclared war, as many of its adherents are unwilling to say publicly that they oppose birth control. That would be too direct and too unpopular. Instead, they assert that access to contraception must be curbed because of abortion, public morals, or the need to curb spending. None of these arguments, however, withstand any kind of scrutiny. The war on contraception, whatever the stated rationale or pretense, is bad public policy.
Every ‘war’ has winners and losers. Victory for birth control opponents would be, by any measure, a major defeat for women in the U.S. and around the world.
It’s time to end the war on birth control.