Legalized abortion did it, not The Pill. The major threat of STDs makes The Pill far more useful in a family-planning situation than for mere recreation.
“...The Pill far more useful in a family-planning situation ....” Concur. It’s a tool to make your life more orderly, not a license to go haywire. There are inherent risks, so you choose to take them or not. P.S. People misuse hammers, too....
That's a common straw man, and it wasn't what wideawake was saying at all. Even with infertile couples, sexual intercourse still is potentially procreative, because infertility is sometimes overcome.
It is, quite obviously, a matter of intentionality.
The infertile couple does not set out intending to be unable to conceive.
Not so the pilltaker, pride marcher, or adult DVD collector.
The two are connected. More than most people know.
Back in the swingin' '60s, the Pill was in fact marketed as an antidote to abortion. It still is, to some extent. Eliminate unwanted pregnancies before they begin, goes the theory, and you will remove the need for abortion.
No, said the Pope Paul VI in a document named Humanae Vitae published in 1968. The Pill will lead inexorably to the cheapening of the procreational act which in turn will lead to women being viewed as mere sex objects. This will result in a greater demand for abortion, not less.
So who was right?
Well, five years after Humanae Vitae, we got Roe v Wade and it has been with us ever since. Abortion is now proclaimed to be a human right in some quarters and it's not hard to see a time when the denial of abortion will be viewed as a violation of "human rights" and a crime. It's clear that the Pill has not eliminated the demand for abortion one iota and instead the killing goes on unabated.
We will continue to have abortion on demand in this country as long as sexual relations are deemed to be legitimate recreational activity. That in turn is down to the Pill. Roe v Wade will not be overturned until there is a sea-change in personal morality.