"A curious thing is happening in the "abortion wars" now taking place in statehouses across the country: Anti-choice extremists--the same people who fanatically oppose abortion and seek to impose government restrictions on women's right to choose--are mounting an all-out war on birth control, family planning and medically accurate sex education.

In Virginia, anti-choice legislators have introduced numerous bills restricting women's access to hormonal contraception, including birth control pills and emergency contraception (EC, also known as the "morning after" pill). Legislation to prevent access to all hormonal contraceptives was introduced last year in the General Assembly. Planned Parenthood countered with legislation to protect birth control. Both bills failed, but the battle continues.

In past years, anti-choice legislators sought to authorize pharmacists to refuse to dispense birth control pills and EC, and to prevent student health centers from providing emergency contraceptives. A current bill requires a waiting period and parental consent before dispensing EC to minors, and another mandates prison terms for prescribing EC to a minor if an interaction occurs with another drug. Measures requiring health insurance coverage for birth control were rejected in past sessions. A current bill targets Planned Parenthood and seeks to eliminate family planning funding for our health centers.

Teens need accurate, comprehensive information to protect themselves from disease and unintended pregnancy, and most parents want them to have it. Yet, antichoice hardliners have introduced bills to mandate that Family Life Education programs emphasize abstinence as the norm and to repeal Board of Education guidelines for teaching about sexual assault, human reproduction and human sexuality.

In our work at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia--the grassroots organizing, lobbying and advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood--we encounter quizzical faces and incredulous reactions when we describe what today's anti-choice hardliners are up to. "How can they do that?" we are asked. "How can they be both against abortion and against birth control? It doesn't make sense! What are they up to?"

It seems obvious, at least to me, that these politicians don't trust women. They want to control women's choices in every aspect of their reproductive lives. Furthermore, they envision a return of women to their traditional roles in society as wives and child bearers. Why else would they introduce a bill prohibiting unmarried women from artificial insemination, or banning anonymous sperm donations to unmarried women, other than to impose their beliefs that women should bear children only in a traditional marriage?

Restricting women's, couples' and teens' access to birth control, medically accurate information and family planning has nothing to do with women's health or protecting children. Rather, it exposes the lawmakers' intent to restrict personal choice and private decisions, and to tether women, willing or not, to motherhood. It is also driven by religious zealotry that defines "personhood" and all its constitutional rights as beginning at the moment of fertilization. No matter what your religious beliefs, these extremists believe theirs should be the law of the land.

Planned Parenthood has more than 850 health centers across the United States with professional doctors, counselors and nurses. Five million women, men and families use Planned Parenthood's clinics for family planning services. For 87 years, the overwhelming majority of Planned Parenthood's services have been aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies.

Pro- and anti-choice advocates are often exhorted to seek common ground, to define areas of shared values and work together toward a common goal. I agree. We should begin by acknowledging that abortion is not a welcome outcome of any pregnancy, and then rally around the goal of putting prevention first. Birth control and family planning is the middle ground. Extremists can't be allowed to control information and women's access to birth control and family planning. If we all agree that abortion should be rare, then we should all be working together to expand access to pregnancy prevention, rather than restricting it. Every child deserves to be loved and wanted. " (Meredith Richards, C-VILLE Weekly. February 14 - 20, 2006)

Meredith Richards is a former Charlottesville city councilor and vice mayor. She is currently serving as chairman of the board for Planned Partenhood Advocates of Virginia.