I, along with many other feminists, was none too pleased with The Obama administration's shocking and disappointing decision regarding access to emergency contraception (EC) this past week. It is evident that this decision will affect public health in general.
As a man, it does not affect me directly, but the fact of the matter is that like I've said in previous blog entries, women's issues are everybody's issues. The potential rise of unplanned pregnancies and abortions are certainly two issues that affect the public as a whole. Additionally, as anti-rape advocate Salamishah Tillet articulates in the linked article, "barring easier access to EC doesn’t address the exploitative nature" of the high occurence of relationships involving "girls who hare [sic] having sex with older men." The aformentioned article, linked to here, points out the further serious implications of this decision, arguing that it disproportionately affects young women of color.
As Don McPherson might say, passing these issues off as just "women's issues" or "minority issues" invites those who aren't directly affected to push the issue aside and ignore it. The fact of the matter, is that exploitation, women's health, and de facto discrmination are real issues that all individuals, not just men or women, must deal with in the public sphere.
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