by Jake Quinn
Contraceptives are wonderful things. Oral contraceptives helped to liberate women when they were introduced to the public in the 1960s. They gave women significantly greater control over their bodies and their reproductive systems. They meant women had more choice about when and to whom they became pregnant.
Unwanted (I don’t mean unplanned) pregnancies are not wonderful things, children born into homes that don’t want them, or are not ready for them, don’t generally lead as full and healthy lives as those who were wanted and where the parents were ready and willing participants.
Contraceptives are particularly wonderful things in disadvantaged communities, where people are less able to cope with social and financial impacts of an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy.