EC = BC

Today is the annual Back up Your Birth Control Day, where those that can try to raise awareness of the availability - or not - of emergency contraception. This year's theme is specifically EC = BC, and there's a rather fab tumblr of iconic images rebranded with the EC = BC equation.

This is important because - as a lot of feminists have been warning for bloody ages - there really is a groundswell of people trying to brainwash us all that emergency contraception is abortion - and, indeed, that the pill is an abortifacient. It's not. When you have fairly serious political journalists such as John Dickerson giving that viewpoint respect, as he did recently on a Slate political gabfest podcast, it shows how much they've been able to use that branding.*

Anyway, today is Back Up Your Birth Control Day. I've taken emergency contraception twice in my life, both times back in the UK and, possibly both in the 20th century. Nonetheless, due to health concerns, my GP has had me come off hormonal contraception. While we are incredibly careful, accidents with condoms do happen, as with all birth control. So I'm backing up my birth control today by sharing EC coupons, purchasing my own EC, and blogging here (and pointing you to other blogs here).

*(NB: While some of Dickerson's own criticisms of British journalism are valid, this is a prime example of what I find utterly infuriating about the often used "neutral" U.S. journalistic approach - all viewpoints are valid and deserve time. No, they don't - this is not true, scientifically, and it needs to be pointed out that they're wrong. Just because it's a sincerely held belief doesn't mean that it's not wrong. But that's a whole other post).