Project Plus Revisited

On February 18 I posted an article about Project Plus, a group that seems to be against birth control. You can read that article here. I thought I would catch you all up on my stunted correspondence with them and then editorialize a little now that I know a little more. some of this can be read in the comments area of that last post.

Brittany Shankle, from project plus responded:

Just a correction. Project Plus is not a specifically Christian campaign. We do not promote any Christian based message, only education and awareness of the harms of Artificial Birth Control methods. See our website for more information. www.theprojectplus.com. thanks for the article!

To which I responded:

Okay, fair enough. I happen to find the article as a christian news wire release on a Catholic blog, I guess I made an unfair assumption. feel free to continue to elaborate on your stance here. specifically I am curious what your groups stance is on sex between unwed couples having intercourse. Do we believe in abstinence or is there a third stance here I have no considered. I am sure other readers would be curious to know.

I was really hoping to start a public discourse on this site to get a good feel for why they are opposed to contraception and what they felt the alternatives were. Unfortunately all I received in response was a personal email directing me to their site, http://www.theprojectplus.com/.

The site is vague and confusing. It does not seem to offer an alternative to safe sex practices, or what their stance on unwed pregnancy or STD's is. They provide what they see as facts to prove that contraception is harmful, and that the media perpetuates un truths: The lies they say are perpetuated include:

That humans can't be happy without sexual involvement.

That it is unhealthy to not want to have as many sexual partners as physically possible.

That the best way to stop the spread of a sexually transmitted disease is to have more sex (just make sure it's protected).

That long term use of potent chemicals that have been linked to the deaths of several women will have no negative side effects on our health.

That having all natural sex is stupid and old fashioned.

The first three postulates are patently ridiculous. You go to any planned parenthood program in this country and before being given condoms you will get a pamphlet, and before birth control, most likely a talks discussing those three exact points. That sex is not needed for happiness. That clearly in the post free-love, AIDs epidemic society we live in that not only is it not healthy to have a large number of partners, but clearly promiscuity is not a healthy practice.

I will admit, it is sad that side effects from pharmaceuticals do have adverse effects on people, and this is a very regrettable occurrence. This is not limited to birth control. Following this line of thought, should we stop practicing modern medicine? Everything from penicillin to acetaminophen causes a reaction in SOMEONE. This is why you should be in touch with your medical professional (and be brutally honest with them regarding the circumstances) when considering a life change such as becoming sexually active so they can find the solution that is right for you. You should also voice whatever concerns you have with contraception with them, and I am sure they will work with you to find the correct answer. The alternatives, listed below, are not much better and statistically much more possible than adverse reactions.

What the Project Plus "lies" do not address is the segment of society who is going to have unwed or non monogamous sex anyway, and whether you find it sad or not, this is going to be a significant number of people. Having all natural sex is not stupid and old fashioned, but having all natural sex in a college setting with multiple partners is a dangerous risk. A 2004 UNC Study says that 1 out of every 2 college students that is sexually active will contract an STD by the age of 25. Among others of importance to women in particular, there were 4.6 Million cases of HPV reported in 2000 with the number continuing to grow. Effects of this disease include genital warts and, if left untreated, it can lead to cervical cancer.

What are we to do for all of these students? Are we to expect them all to suddenly become abstinent? "Natural" birth control methods, like the "Rhythm Method", or "The Pull & Pray", while possibly effective against pregnancy, offer NO such guarantees against STDs at all. But there is no alternative, other than suggesting that people can be happy without sex (which IS true) there is no stance state on the site, other than "Birth Control is Baaaaad, MMmmkay. . .".

What do you suggest for the sexually active among us Project Plus? We would sure like to know.



TomC