"It is, of course, the magic man stuff which instantly makes our eggs murderable. " - Bee

"Nice bit of sexism there. But then that's not the issue, is it. " - Peace

Yes it is, a nice bit of sexism. Pardon me for allowing frustration at the fact that it is overwhelmingly a group of men who decide how womens' reproduction will be controlled to cause me to react waspishly.

The vast majority of women do not 'use abortion as a method of birth control'. Abortion is at best an uncomfortable and often painful process. Any woman who's had a D&C (there are reasons besides abortion for this procedure) will agree that it sucks big time. Abortion is still a matter of jumping through hoops to obtain, and yet women do obtain them in fairly large numbers.

So why is it that they haven't 'clued in' to using birth control? Birth control choices are: hormonal pills/implants, IUDs, condoms, charting cycles, sterilization.

Hormonal pills/implants: These work quite well for many women, but for a goodly number of women, they have side effects including reduction of libido, depression, weight gain, and possibly future susceptibility to breast cancer. They also are an ongoing expense, and missing even one or two can lead to pregnancy.

IUDs: These work well for some women, but have been known to fail, can cause physical harm (get loose and perforate the uterus wall, for one), and must be removed and replaced every two to five years in what, trust me, can be a very painful procedure. They also must be purchased - last one I bought cost over $40.

Condoms: Work well, have been known to fail, can cause allergic responses, and some men still refuse to use them. Must be purchased.

Charting cycles: Can work, if you are dedicated, organised, and have a partner on side. Fails frequently, since cycles can vary for a multitude of reasons.

Sterilization: A great solution, if you don't want any, or any more, children.

Yes, everybody should be educated about birth control, and should use it, but there is a percentage of people who will not or cannot use it because of ignorance, money issues, partner issues, health issues, and of course there is the varying failure rate for all the options (including sterilization, which isn't always as perfectly done as it should be).

IOW, birth control is not perfect, does not always work, often includes unwanted effects, and is still overwhelmingly about the woman. And when it fails, she is faced with having a child or an abortion, which she must try to hide because it is still socially a frowned upon procedure, and some people will also accuse her of being stupid about birth control.