A BILLION HORNY INDIANS SAY, "Give Us "Morning-After-Pill" Or Give Us ... Sterility!"
Jesus'sPedoBoy
"What's the harm in destroying unviable tissue masses?"
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"As use of morning-after pills rises in India, health workers voice
concerns"
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 2, 2010; A06
NEW DELHI -- A college-age woman, dressed in traditional Indian
clothing with her hair in a long braid, nervously whispers into a
phone that she needs to find an abortion clinic. The next scene of the
popular Indian TV ad shows the woman and a friend peering into a dimly
lit alley as a voice-over says, "It's better to take an I-pill and
avoid the quandary of an abortion."
The candor of the advertisement is a sign of dramatic change in India,
whose traditional society still frowns on public displays of
affection. Sexual behavior is increasingly openly discussed -- and
prevalent. As the nation's economic boom draws growing numbers of
young people into the workforce, they are leaving the confines of
family, moving to big cities and often declaring their independence
through sex.
Doctors report that use of the I-pill, which can prevent pregnancy if
taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, is soaring. But they also
worry that young women are misusing the pill by taking it too often or
in place of contraceptives.
"In India, it's almost like girls are gulping I-pills," said Yash
Bala, a gynecologist outside New Delhi. "The biggest problem with this
is that girls are not concerned about whether their partner uses a
condom."
Many young women report using the emergency contraceptive pills
several times a month instead of using condoms, increasing the risk of
contracting sexually transmitted diseases, gynecologists say. This
year, dozens of ads for the I-pill, also known worldwide as the
morning-after pill, have flooded Indian TV channels, highway
billboards and women's magazines.
Meher Malik, a belly-dancing teacher in New Delhi, has used the I-pill
twice. She said many of her friends also have used it, some of them
far more often.
"They definitely want to take the pill if they think that something
went wrong last night," said Malik, 21, who is single. "I think it is
very apt for today's generation."
Many gynecologists and health workers say that the pills have helped
women avoid abortions, which are legal in India but are often
performed by untrained workers in unsanitary conditions. Health
workers say the pill's availability also empowers women, who face many
hurdles in the country's tradition-bound, patriarchal culture.
As many as 7 million abortions are performed in India annually, and
more than 20,000 women die of botched abortions each year, according
to the Mumbai-based Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological
Societies of India. The group says that the number of deaths is
probably higher in reality because many families and health workers
are afraid to report them.
"In India, women are now getting their own identity. They want to make
decisions on their own -- about financial matters, about their career
and about when they have a baby," said Ajay Pal Singh, a psychiatrist.
"The big difference is now they don't need to go to their family
members or anyone. They can go straight to the chemist and buy the
pill. It's how the pill has been marketed to women in the ads also."
Since August 2007, when the Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla
launched the I-pill, which costs less than $2, about 200,000 units of
the drug have been sold every month.
"Sometimes, for products, getting the timing right is critical," said
Arvind Sharma, chairman of the Indian subcontinent division of the
advertising firm Leo Burnett in Mumbai. "There has been change in
lifestyles, there has been a lot of migration from small towns to big
towns. This pill is a symbol of that change."
Few restrictions have been placed on the pill's availability. In
interviews, several high school and college students in New Delhi and
Mumbai said they were using I-pills but not informing their parents.
More than 70 percent of India's population of 1.16 billion is younger
than 35.
"I think when used with discretion, it's a huge tension reliever,"
said a fashion design student, 20, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to preserve her privacy. She said she recently used it three
times in one month. She said she doesn't want to get married for
several years and wants to wait awhile after marriage to have children
-- a sentiment that is becoming more common among educated urban women
in India.
Scientists remain uncertain about the side effects of using the
emergency pill frequently. Its counterpart in the United States, known
as Plan B, is available over the counter, but only to women 18 or
older. The drug prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg in the
uterus. It does not terminate an existing pregnancy but is opposed by
many anti-abortion groups.
For many older Indians, the most shocking thing about the I-pill is
that the main objections to it are being voiced by health
professionals worried about its misuse, not by conservatives, such as
the right-wing Hindu groups that have demonstrated against public
kissing and even Valentine's Day. It took nearly a decade for
government ads to openly talk about condoms in the fight against HIV.
That is why many here say that the I-pill could be emerging at a
pivotal time for young Indians.
"In India, there are more couples who are getting financial
independence at a much younger age," said Kaushiki Dwivedee, a
gynecologist. "They are looking for partners and support, and so they
end up in relationships. So the sexual behavior of Indian youth is
completely changing."
But she also said that the I-pill may push Indians into finally
addressing birth-control issues.
"India is the second-largest population in the world, and we have
never really been proactive as far as the contraception is concerned,"
Dwivedee said, adding that until recently abortion was often used as a
means of birth control. "So our birth-control history is not a very
bright one. Our land has always been more about Kama Sutra than
contraceptives."
[Special correspondent Ayesha Manocha in New Delhi contributed to this
report.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101969.html?hpid=topnews
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