Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Matt Garza has advice for those lamenting the loss of birth control under healthcare.
On Thursday, actress and movie star Jessica Chastain sent this angry tweet about birth control and women in the workforce:
#BirthControl is no longer covered by health insurance. Congrats USA, you’re doing your part to keep women out of the work force. #smfh
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) January 13, 2017
Garza, saw Chastain’s tweet and pounced:
It’s called abstinence, a word that has been forgotten amongst this generation… it’s the best contraceptive… #juatsaying https://t.co/OgKg1qQmln
— Matt garza (@Gdeuceswild) January 13, 2017
Several good things happened here, first and foremost the fact that an athlete seized an opportunity to defend life on Twitter. Second, the message itself reminds a generation that is in many ways obsessed with sex, that not having sex will not only not kill them but remains the only guaranteed way to prevent pregnancy.
Now, some, like Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra, point out that while there’s “nothing wrong” with abstinence, it is not contraception. Calcaterra writes, “But though abstinence may prevent one from getting pregnant, it is not a “contraceptive.” A “contraceptive” is a means of preventing pregnancy for those who are sexually active.”
That’s not entirely true. The Merriam-Webster definition of contraception simply says, “deliberate prevention of conception or impregnation.” Nowhere in that definition does it actually say “for those who are sexually active.”
Garza’s message boiled down to its simplest terms? “Not having sex is a great way to end up not pregnant.”
Kind of hard to argue with that.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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