After attending CSW in New York this month, imagine my surprise to see the headline “Third World Women Don’t Want Contraceptives, Expert Tells Canadian Politicians.”
I honestly did a double take.
After hearing for two weeks how contraceptives are the only solution to maternal mortality it was refreshing to see a different viewpoint.
The Population Research Institute (PRI) has conducted surveys in Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Mexico. In each country “reproductive health” was nowhere near the top of healthcare priorities for women.
“It’s not what they want,” said Steven Mosher, president of PRI. “They ask for clean drinking water, and we give them contraceptives.”
Western based corporations such as Planned Parenthood and UNICEF are assuming that because having children is an inconvenience to them that it is for everyone.
“We’re talking about women in the developing world who want to have children. They just don’t want to die in the process,” stated Mosher.
Research like this study from PRI is vitally important to help us all in realizing ways that we can truly help the millions of women (and of course men) that are struggling. Clean water and sanitary hospitals are infinitely more important then contraceptives.
Part of me says, ok let’s all the pro-contraceptive people out in the desert with just their contraceptives and no water and see how they survive. However that is not very nice. And since I consider myself a generally kind individual I would instead ask them
Which is more important for survival: clean drinking water or a condom? A hygienic doctor’s office for prenatal care or a plan B pill?
The answer should be blatantly obvious.