Developing New Contraceptives Obstacles and Opportunities (1990) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 Values and Contraceptive Development
4 Values and Contraceptive Development
Pages 41-54
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 41... ...
One reason that we have not provided more detail is that the information needed for complete analysis of the history and sociology of American attitudes toward the control of human reproduction and their likely impact on contraceptive development is not available. Although there is a sizable scientific literature examining knowledge about, attitudes toward, and the practice of contraception, almost no research has been done on public opinion regarding contraceptive development.
|
From page 42... ...
Some leaders in the black community have worried about what they termed the genocide inherent in white promotion and black acceptance of federally subsidized family planning services (Littlewood, 1977~. Given the links between the eugenics movement and the birth control movement, it is not surprising that some in the black community have argued that government-supported, organized family planning programs were racier In the 1960s, considerable controversy erupted when family planning centers were located in black communities, because some people thought these programs were designed specifically for minority communities Joffe, 1986~.
|
From page 43... ...
Religious Perspectives Current American attitudes toward contraception and human reproduction are often rooted in beliefs and values molded by the nation's dominant religious traditions. It is useful to briefly note the highlights of what those traditions have had to say about contraceptive practice.
|
From page 44... ...
In 1930, Pope Pius XI's encyclical Casii Connubii affixed that the goal of marriage was procreation and condemned all contraceptive use except periodic abstinence or rhythm. Despite the fact that a papal commission appointed after Vatican II to review the church's position on family planning recommended that married couples be allowed to use contraceptives, in 1968 Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the church's disapproval of what Catholics refer to as artificial birth control (Murphy, 1981~.
|
From page 45... ...
The climate of hostility created by certain religiously motivated opponents of different contraceptive methods is cited by some people as an element in pharmaceutical industry decisions not to support contraceptive development, but it is impossible to establish how important such opposition has really been. Legal Perspectives The impact of religion on contraceptive practice and attitudes toward the development of new methods may be difficult to specify, but the importance of the American legal system is clear and, like other aspects of the society, it too was influenced by the religious orientations of Americans.
|
From page 46... ...
The extent to which parents have a legal role in reproductive decisions by their minor children and the extent to which religiously affiliated institutions involved in family planning activities may be supported by the federal government have been especially controversial. CONTEMPORARY VALUE CONFLICTS: STERILIZATION AND ABORTION No other aspects of contraceptive development and use have been as controversial, or as hotly debated by those with different religious and legal orientations, as sterilization and abortion.
|
From page 47... ...
Despite the fact that male and female sterilization together constitutes the most widely used method of fertility control among married couples in the United States, and despite the fact that many courts have tightened the standards that must be met before a retarded child or adult can be sterilized, in minority communities particularly, the abuses associated with sterilization have helped foster distrust of many promoters of contraceptive services, even though there has been no apparent impact on the levels of contraceptive practice, including sterilization (Weisbord, 1975~. Changing technology has also influenced the public's view of different contraceptive options.
|
From page 48... ...
Although public opinion polls suggest the presence of a broad middle group that might be characterized as reluctantly pro-choice, their numbers have not been felt in public debates and discussions of abortion; those who hold views at either end of the spectrum of opinion have set the tone for abortion discussions. The distaste many people feel toward abortion and the increased visibility of those who oppose it may have served as disincentives in the contraceptive development process.
|
From page 49... ...
Often women seeking abortion have experienced a contraceptive failure or have discontinued contraception because of perceived risks or unacceptable side effects or because they were in the process of considering other contraceptive options, including sterilization. The high prevalence of sterilization in the United States is due in part to the experience of contraceptive failure and in part to the limited acceptability and often low effectiveness of other contraceptive options available to older women.
|
From page 50... ...
Nevertheless, these developments serve to heighten the concern of those who oppose fertility control from the very earliest stages of fertilization that new methods of contraception could act after fertilization. This, coupled with the interdiction of some religious groups against almost all forms of modern contraception, provides a continuous source of potential conflict and controversy, the net result of which is probably to discourage bow public and private investment in new contraceptive development.
|
From page 51... ...
To the extent that women can control reproduction, and thereby increase their ability to engage in activities unrelated to childbearing, they can move to equalize responsibilities with men for home and children (Petchesky, 1984~. The interrelationship between the perceived social benefits of a certain demographic balance and women's desire to control fertility has been particularly important in the twentieth century.
|
From page 52... ...
Although almost all family planning specialists argue that the ideal method of contraception would be one that would be safely available over the counter and without the need for any medical supervision, most currently available modem methods involve some risk and therefore require varying degrees of medical supervision. Thus, for example, pelvic examinations are needed prior to the insertion of an IUD or the fitting of a diaphragm.
|
From page 53... ...
The priority given to contraceptive development has been low because of more pressing demands for funding. Even the Planned Parenthood Federation and other family planning organizations have assigned contraceptive development a lower priority than other needs they perceive to be more immediate.
|
From page 54... ...
In the 1960s and early 1970s, many women who might have supported the development of new contraceptive methods were concerned about the goals of those advocating government subsidized birth control, about the role and influence of the medical profession in contraceptive development and provision, and about the lack of concern for the users' perspective. Nonetheless, for all women, safer and more effective methods of preventing births, which take account of women's social and economic conditions and their changing life-styles, are critically important.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.