Ah, the wisdom of Bristol Palin. How did we ever live without it?
It seems Bristol read a report on a conservative blog called “Judicial Watch” (a blog that reports on our president’s collusion with terrorists and conservative outrage over the debunked Benghazi scandal, mind you) about free birth control programs in Washington State offered to girls free of charge. Bristol felt the need to enlighten us all about it’s outrageousness. The report stated that:
“The data obtained by JW reflect increasing numbers of kids in all age groups receiving these birth control implants from 2013 to 2014… the records show that in 2014 and at least part of 2015, girls as young as 10 received the implants.”
Palin expressed her horror at this news by writing:
“Do you remember what it was like to be a 10 year old? I remember being an unabashed tomboy concerned with playing outside and acing 5th grade…
But life isn’t so innocent and carefree for some 10 years old in Washington State. This summer a report came out claiming that some schools in Washington were giving free birth control implants to children as young as 10 years old! These birth control devices are implanted in a girl’s uterus, and all of this can be done without a parent’s consent!
It is crazy that the government is offering a controversial form of birth control that can have serious life-long side effects to 10-year-old CHILDREN, but then to do all of this behind a parent’s back is simply outrageous!”
Hey, Bristol, you missed a few things by getting your information from this blog. Allow me to catch you up.
Yes, it was offered to all girls in this school. Only a grand total of four 11-year-olds participated. Four. The majority were between 16 and 17 years old. I believe that’s about the age you were when you got pregnant with your first child, isn’t it?
Yes, IUDs are a “controversial” form of birth control. That’s because people like you continue to spread misconceptions about them. In fact, however, IUDs are no more risky than other forms of birth control, and links between infertility and IUDs have been largely discredited. Did you know, Bristol, that female gynecologists rely on IUDs as a form of birth control more often than other methods? That’s because, dear, they know things that you don’t. Many things. To be fair, though, so do the rest of us.
Yes, life is not innocent and carefree for all 10-year-olds. The U.S. Department of Justice reports:
“In a 2012 maltreatment report, of the victims who were sexually abused, 26% were in the age group of 12–14 years and 34% were younger than 9 years.”
See, Bristol, offering free birth control to girls is not “crazy,” nor is it “outrageous.” It prevents pregnancy, something you seem to know very, very little about.
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
