Within the past
100 years, the world population has grown by approximately 5 billion
people. I realize the Bible says to be fruitful. However, the Bible
didn’t account for 7 billion people with extended life
expectancies thanks to the kind of medicine that Pedulla practices. It
stands to reason that if mankind did not make advances in medicine, we
really would have to procreate as the Bible prescribes (no pun
intended).
To argue
against emergency contraception, one can equally argue against medically
assisted life extension. If one asserts that contraception goes against
God’s will, then one must believe that all medical intervention also
goes against his will. God didn’t create pacemakers, stints, artificial
hearts or dialysis machines, and it’s a safe bet he never intended for
humans to have heart valves from pigs.
Assuming
world population stays its course, it’s expected to hit 9 billion by
2050. It would appear that by that point, we may very well be
negotiating the end of days as that egregious population scrambles for
limited resources.
My
point is that we need to conserve the resources we have. With oil being a
major component in pesticides, shortages could very well bring about
crop shortfalls and starvation, a hefty price to pay for dumping it down
the gullets of our cars. If Pedulla’s office were high enough to see
over Integris hospital, he would have a very telling view of Lake Hefner
and a stark reminder that water is a precious and limited resource,
something easily forgotten as long as the tap works without fail.
Emergency
contraception might not be ideal for those who seek some form of
religious absolution, but it may actually be preventing or staving off
the worst prophetic parts of the Bible. It is unwise to procreate under
the supposition that the deus ex machina is going to save us from war,
famine and related suffering at the 11th hour.
I,
for one, am in no hurry to see humanity tear itself apart, but unless
God’s plan involves starships and extraplanetary colonization, we
probably shouldn’t rally against contraceptive progress.
—Brandon Wertz, Oklahoma City
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2013.