PERCEPTION OF MARRIED WOMEN ON FAMILY PROGRAMMES IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF
EDO STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
When Western and Scientific Medicine was born and began to develop under the gleams of Hippocrates (460 – 377 BC), one of its major point was to remove abortion and infanticide (Edelstein, 1943). The Hippocratic oath thus solemnly condemned them as unethical. Before Hippocrates, family planning has been in practice (Wikipedia, 2010). In the historical record of the Jews, Onan, son of Judah, in fulfillment of the laws of leverate marriage was to impregnate his brother Er’s widow, Tamar, in order to raise spring from the union in his brother’s name (Genesis38:8). In order to avoid raising descendant for his late brother however, Onan spilled his semen on the ground when he went into his brother’s wife, so that he would not give ospring to his brother (Genesis 38:9-10). Thus, the word Onanism was coined meaning ejaculating outside the vagina or coitus interuptus (Wikipedia, 2010). Among Christian denominations today, there are large variety of positions towards family planning. The Roman Catholic has disallowed artificial contraception for as far back as one can historically trace. It was also disallowed by non-Catholic Christians until 1930 when the Anglican communion changed its policy. Soon are, most protestant groups came to accept the use of modern contraceptive as a matter of Biblically allowable freedom of conscience (Flann, 1960). The only form of birth control permitted by the Roman Catholic is abstinence. Modern scientific methods of “periodic abstinence” such as Natural Family Planning (NFP) were counted as a form of abstinence by Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae (Humanae Vita 1968). Meanwhile, protestant movements such as Focus on the Family view contraception use outside of marriage as encouragement to promiscuity (Abstinence policy, 2005). There is no ban on birth control in Hinduism (“BBC – Hindu beliefs about contraception”). Some Hindus believe that producing more children than the environment can support goes against the doctrine of the religious and moral codes of Hindus. Although fertility is important, according to the Hindus, but
conceiving more children than can be supported is treated as violating the Ahimsa (non-violent rule of conduct) (Wikipedia, 2010).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.