Nuns On The Pill

Not planning to have a baby? There’s a pill for that.

Not planning to have a baby ever, or to die from ovarian cancer? There’s also a pill for that. The same one, actually.

As well as helping you to not become pregnant when you don’t want to be, that pill can also decrease your risk of ovarian and uterine cancer. This is especially good news if you intend never to be pregnant, because the more ovulatory menstrual cycles you have, the greater your risk of developing these forms of cancer.

That’s why researchers from The University of Melbourne, writing in The Lancet, have advocated the birth control pill being made available to Roman Catholic nuns, amongst others.

Likely as this notion is to cause a stir, it also brings to mind the options women have. All two of them. According to general wisdom, we can either have babies or take a pill. But surely there are as many ways to organize our reproductive health as there are women?

There are women who choose not to take the pill, including the many women at high risk of developing blood clots. There are women who use other methods of birth control, women who can’t have babies, women who are celibate, women who do not have sex with men, women who simply do not wish to ingest more chemicals than they already get in their drinking water.

Is it necessary to assume that there are no options besides the pill or the stroller?

On the other hand, the medical benefits of the pill in some situations are proven, so why shouldn’t women have access? Like a lot of people, I was raised to see medication as a last resort, and taking pills as a sign of weakness or self-absorption. It’s possible that women, when viewing the pill as medicine rather than birth control, might say no for these reasons.

A pill that could save lives is a great thing, and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Neither should it be seen as the only option.

Contact the author here: miriam@morningquickie.com