General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTRUMP WANTS TO REPLACE BIRTH CONTROL WITH THE DUBIOUS 'CALENDAR METHOD'
The Trump administration wants to replace reliable birth control methods with "fertility awareness," a dubious family-planning technique that fails nearly a quarter of women every year.
In a leaked memo obtained by Crooked, White House officials wrote that they intend to slash federal funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development's family-planning budget and require "equal funding" for fertility awareness. The memo further specifies that fertility planning should be the sole birth control method made available to young girls.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment on the memo and hasn't heard back. Newsweek couldn't independently verify the veracity of the memo.
Fertility planning, also known as the "calendar method" or "rhythm method," requires women to diligently track their menstrual cycles, pinpoint the days when they're ovulating and avoid sex during that time in order to be effective. Because about 30 percent of women experience irregular periods, fertility planning has one of the highest rates of failure of any family-planning method. The calendar method also asks a lot of young girls, who often learn little about sex and reproduction thanks to abstinence-only education across the country.
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-replace-birth-control-fertility-awareness-leaked-document-689840?utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
mountain grammy
(26,568 posts)I mean the 50+% of white women voters who voted for this asshole.WTF ever were they thinking or not thinking?
SergeStorms
(18,880 posts)they let the "man" in their life do their thinking for them. Many of those women have been brow-beaten, literally beaten, and made to feel subservient to a man their entire lives. I feel sorry for them, in a fashion, but everyone must take responsibility for their lives sooner or later. That they betray their own gender sickens me, and I'm a man.
Liberal In Texas
(13,452 posts)Parents.
snowybirdie
(5,190 posts)Good Catholic - rhythm method - 5 babies in 8 years!
Mariana
(14,847 posts)Seriously, is there any doubt that it doesn't work?
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)Plus, you could think you have a regular cycle and then it can change on you randomly. It's ok for someone who doesn't want to get pregnant, but might be ok with it if it happened (maybe married woman who wants a child eventually, not a teenager). I think the method sucks too because there are lots of times when you can't have sex. Guys aren't going to be into that either.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)Marthe48
(16,688 posts)Yeah, sure works good. And for God's sake, in this world, who is disciplined enough, other than pence and melania, to hold off having sex? And just a couple times a month. And don't forget, masturbation is a sin for some religions.
moriah
(8,311 posts)You missed the sarcasm tag, so I'm going with your "seriously" as a request for a serious answer
Especially as this is allegedly supposed to be replacing parts of sex education about other, more reliable, methods for young women who may not have developed a fully regular cycle -- if they ever will -- this is not good.
I personally do think every woman should understand her reproductive cycle, and teaching young women how their cycle works and how to track it is great. If a woman's cycle actually does stay within a 26-32 day window, they can make a version of "CycleBeads" cheap. It'd be a cool 6th grade sex project to teach young women how to learn to understand their bodies.
But it should NOT be used as a replacement for education about condoms, pills, LARC, and other better methods, and the effectiveness rates should be accurately expressed for such a system with perfect use.
https://www.cyclebeads.com/blog/673/birth-control-effectiveness_how-risky-is-your-birth-control
Their own chart shows perfect condom use surpasses perfect Standard Days Method, and oral contraceptive "typical use" still surpasses SDM's typical use. That's, by their own website promoting the product, four more teenagers out of every 100 having an unintended pregnancy if this is advertised to teens as a replacement for condoms or birth control, especially when teaching how to use condoms correctly and consistently would overcome the "typical use" issues.
spanone
(135,627 posts)ATL Ebony
(1,097 posts)SergeStorms
(18,880 posts)comes to mind. General Kelly and his "adored and revered" women comes to mind. They'll be "adored and revered" as long as they do everything the man dictates, whenever he dictates, and sometimes that "adoration" comes in the form of physical violence. By that time women are usually too numb and broken to notice.
williesgirl
(4,033 posts)running around"! Catholic method of birth control. Watch the abortion rate escalate quickly and, unfortunately, women dying from the coat hanger method when given no choice. Naturally, the responsibility and blame will fall on women, not men.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)This is really bad. This guy doesn't know WTF he is doing..Just making shit up to pander to some crazy base.
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)TwistOneUp
(1,020 posts)The "rhythm method" is a bitter pill.
Does anyone NOT believe we're living in a theocracy?...
House of Roberts
(5,119 posts)are allergic to latex.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Motownman78
(491 posts)promising to pull out.
Doreen
(11,686 posts)even expecting the guy to take responsibility by even suggesting that. I have not seen those administration men suggest that a man learns to pull out.
Motownman78
(491 posts)The Dumpster Fire Administration is a bunch of MRA and PUA losers.
SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)Some semen is released in pre-ejaucate fluid before ejaculation. The withdrawal method produces a lot of babies, like the rhythm method.
qwlauren35
(6,108 posts)requires organized protest. From women, from men.
It's nice to make comments and shake your head, but it doesn't send a message to the White House that this would have horrific repercussions on women's health and the ability of families to control their size. This will affect women AND men. Because women's reproductive health affects the men who love them.
So, we need men to speak out against this.
Solly Mack
(90,740 posts)Stonepounder
(4,033 posts)For something this blatantly idiotic, I want a second source. (Not to say that the tRump White House isn't blatantly idiotic.)
moriah
(8,311 posts)... they could find information about without vetting it.
I saw the original Crooked article and I still want confirmation.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)after I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and was left with only one fallopian tube. My OB/GYN told me to take my temperature every day to see when I was ovulating to maximize my odds of getting pregnant. It took 6 months to get pregnant with only one tube.
Would I use this method as birth control? Absolutely not. If the method failed to ACHIEVE a pregnancy, no harm done. As a means of birth control, failure would mean an unwanted pregnancy.
My husband got a vasectomy after our 2nd child was born.
zanana1
(6,084 posts)Orrex
(63,083 posts)onecent
(6,096 posts)HE IS NUTS!!!!
mreilly
(2,120 posts)... Catholics. Who want their followers to have large families. As large as possible. The larger the better. In order to induct more new Catholics into the church.
When a birth control "method" is proposed by people opposed to actual birth control and in favor of people - well, Catholics only -
breeding like fucking rabbits, you know it's complete bullshit.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,043 posts)He said she was very good about using birth control. Considering he wanted Marla to abort Tiffany, I don't think he wanted any more surprises.
LongTomH
(8,636 posts)This (mal)administration just gets more toxic by the day!!!!
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)spiderpig
(10,419 posts)before his grabs their .....
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Blaukraut
(5,689 posts)The method can work, but it takes a lot of dedication and a generous fertility window. Even then, if your cycles aren't regular, you're screwed.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)and she had 7 kids. She seemed offended when we told her it didn't work.
LiberalBrooke
(527 posts)about birth control, which was the rhythm method does NOT work. This was from a Catholic woman who had 9 children.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)my mother was a devout Catholic too.
ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts). . .4 kids by three different women. Idiot.
MiniMe
(21,676 posts)Parents. Yeah I know, old one, but I learned that in Jr. High School. Back when they were realistic and didn't teach abstinence
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I dont understand this point of view at all.
I try to give women as few reasons not to have sex with me as possible. Ensuring plenty of birth-control options are available surely falls into that category.
From a selfish male standpoint this is just stupid.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)"Let's make a baby. It's time!!"
dawg
(10,607 posts)Not only does it not protect against STD's, it isn't very effective as birth control either. But it might just make someone confident enough to run the risk.
rock
(13,218 posts)But I think his current method has worked about as good as they get. If he'll just hold that pose.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSL-WEayb00xZQ2PHe6ZI_oNgBdFgcHtvIEllh39fmEK3dmPqOitw
BruceWane
(345 posts)Seriously - if it's a "sin" to prevent the holy equation sperm+egg+9 months = baby, why is engaging in sex when less fertile any more OK than using other methods?
You're just using a calendar instead of a condom. Different tool, same result.
It's still a person acting intentionally to have sex and avoid making a baby. Seems like the method would be irrelevant.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,353 posts)I truly thought that this was an Onion article when I first heard about it but, sadly, it is not.
Also, how many Republican/Christian women use the Rhythm Method? Not everybody is out there breeding like Duggars (most of us couldn't seriously afford to even if we wanted a huge family).
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)redstatebluegirl
(12,264 posts)I don't think I ever saw Mrs. Brown when she wasn't "with child". My Dad used to point at them and say "the rhythm method gone bad".
Eliot Rosewater
(31,096 posts)take BC away.
They are gonna legalize rape, too.
You see elections have consequences, even stolen ones.
Irish_Dem
(45,616 posts)NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)It's never worked reliably, and they know it. But you know, because god.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)Freethinker65
(9,928 posts)She had 5 kids and was upset about the last pregnancy (at the time had prefered to keep the family at four children). She is a wonderful mother and delightful compassionate person. She also made sure to get her eldest daughter an appointment to an OBGYN for birth control as soon as said teenage daughter began dating!
My other very Catholic SIL got knocked up by a married man. She ended up with four kids. Her unmarried daughter has two kids (one conceived while she was a teenager after a miscarriage) and is living off and on with government assistance.
Both SILs are reliable GOP voters.
Madam Mossfern
(2,340 posts)... his name is Noah.