How Contraception Became Proxy for Women's Freedom

"Contra Justice Ginsburg, the Hobby Lobby decision is no cause for alarm," writes Helen Alvaré. She argues that even though Ginsburg's voice doesn't represent many women, "her arguments still have power" (particularly in the marketplace of male-female relationships), and they can't go unchallenged.

For significant and entrenched reasons, birth control has become a proxy for “women’s freedom” in the minds of many women, even if they’re not actually touched by the Hobby Lobby decision.

A significant number of women have good reasons to be anxious about the possibility of becoming pregnant when they are not fully willing and prepared. This is largely due to the situation in the “marketplace” of male-female relationships and the lack of policies helping mothers manage work outside the home.

First, regarding this marketplace, today it fosters non-marital sex, cohabitation, later marriage, abortion, and single parenthood (and thus female poverty). These phenomena are disadvantageous to women, and in the minds of many, can be mitigated or avoided by contraception. The mechanisms by which these results are produced are brilliantly summarized by leading economists.

Putting Sex into Perspective

World magazine reviews 2 new books about sex that conservatives may enjoy: Bringing Sex into Focus: the Quest for Sexual Integrity by Caroline J. Simon, and The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: (and You Thought Bad Girls Have All the Fun) by Sheila Wray Gregoire.

The first "uses a helpful metaphor, optics, as a way to talk about six different lenses through which people view sex: covenantal, procreative, romantic, plain sex, power, and expressive," writes World's Susan Olasky, and "will be particularly useful for young adults searching for a way to think through sexual issues and discern perspectives that shape media and culture."

the second "answers questions about the nuts and bolts ... Like a funny big sister, [the author] takes on intimate topics in a frank and reassuring way ... for those who are engaged, for newlyweds, and for those who are sexually experienced and want to gain a biblical understanding."