Vanessa Victoria Kilmer

Plan B

I have a real problem with men deciding on issues of birth control, contraption and pregnancy. And it’s not just men, it’s others who want to make decisions in these areas for strangers.

I have a problem with men making the decisions because until they have to live the life, they have no way to truly empathize. It’s not that I don’t think they should have an opinion, because they can. It’s just that men can’t have a life growing in the bodies for nine months and can never know that commitment.

When it comes to those that are holier than thou making decisions of this nature for strangers, I always want to ask, "How many children have you adopted?" or "How many single mothers do you personally support?" I want to know how many priests are personally raising children of rape victims. Or how many Christians are baby sitting children born to unwed mothers while the moms are working at Mickey D’s. Are any of these people putting a seventeen year old Mom through college so her child can have a better life? Are any of them hugging these Moms when they are scared to death of their futures?

I want a personal accounting by every person, male or female, who tries to make these decisions for a woman. I want to know what exactly they have done to prevent a rape, to educate a girl that doesn’t know any thing different, to build a girl’s self esteem, to improve the life of a child not related to them, when God last told them it was OK to make a desperate person’s life more difficult.