President Obama is reported to have dismissed the recent revelations of law-breaking by the murderous organization, Planned Parenthood, as nothing more than a mere "distraction". I am sure the Evangelical reaction to the latest news on the health effects of birth control will be along the same lines.
As I wrote in another context, Evangelicalism is utterly lost. It has reduced itself to a groveling, snivelling chasing after culture, calling out, "Me, too!". With Evangelicals wringing their hands over the gulf oil spill last year, and moaning about life being smothered while at the same time embracing the lie of overpopulation and wringing their hands in the other direction about whether or not Christians should have babies - it's no wonder they are utterly incapable of stepping back and thinking critically, especially about something as deeply unpopular as moral theology. There is no thought to swimming against the tide of culture, only of riding along with it, if at a slightly slower pace.
Into this setting in American evangelicalism comes yet another study finding ill-effects of birth control.
Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital have conducted a study looking at the relationship of three different forms of hormonal birth control (daily pill, cervical ring and transdermal patch) and their effect on antioxidant levels. All three methods of delivery resulted in lowered antioxidant levels, although the women using the transdermal patch had the greatest reduction in antioxidant levels.
Antioxidants help protect us from oxidative stress and the resultant diseases, including: Atherosclerosis, Myocardial infarction, heart failure and chronic fatigue syndrome. They also help shore up the immune system's ability to kill off pathogens.
The culture will never admit "The Pill" was a bad bargain for women. How much evidence has to pile up before Evangelicals depart from culture on this and recognize that their wish to be "good stewards" of the environment must include a little bit of wisdom about what women put into their bodies?
You can read the study here.
I don't disagree with the fact that HBC can cause the death of a child. I do wish the church would at least *try* to think about this issue in a less worldly way. However, as a side note, I did see a while back an interesting article on my local news. Just thought I'd pass it on. Here's the link: http://www.wwltv.com/home/Doctor-says-extra-vitamins-arent-just-unneccessary-they-can-be-harmful-111571279.html (not sure if they'll make you register to view it...if so, it's free).
ReplyDelete*facepalm* I just realized I left a link that made absolutely no sense. I read an article in the local news where researchers were trying to see if The Pill was effective with obese women. Here's the quote:
ReplyDelete"Birth control pills have very low doses of hormones these days and studies in the past had some doctors worried that they would not be as effective in preventing pregnancy in overweight women as they are in normal weight women. But a new study finds good news. In the three-month study only three percent of healthy-weight women ovulated and only two percent of obese women ovulated, making the pill appear equally effective in both groups." That gave me slight pause as most of the books I've read in the quiverfull line make it sound like the Pill frequently fails to suppress ovulation and instead relies on the 'backup' effects of changes in the mucus and lining. Now, I'm still against the heart attitude that treats children like luxury vehicles to afford or nuisances to avoid. But I have met some who have tried to be 'quiverful' but don't have the know-how or support, are desperately trying to keep going and the thought of having another child to raise terrifies them b/c they're so overwhelmed. I still can't recommend the Pill due to its health risks but this makes me wonder if its quite as evil. I'm probably off in my thinking so if I am please set me straight (if you feel led to).
~Cathy in NOLA