June 17, 2010 - The name "Ella" has universal appeal, meaning a variety of things from "burning torch" to "goddess," depending on the language. There are hints of Cinderella, Ella Fitzgerald and Ella Enchanted -which associate the name with virtue, talent and a good soul ensnared by an unfortunate alignment of the stars. In short, "Ella" brings to mind a girl who means well, even if the circumstances aren't ideal-ultimately she will prevail.

How rich, then, is the choice of "Ella" as the name of the next "morning-after pill" on the horizon. Unlike RU-486, which hearkens back to the sketchy lab that concocted the deadly chemical mix, this marketing scheme will appeal to the girls who find themselves oppressed by fate, and need a potion to free themselves from an awkward situation.

Pregnancy, of course, is a completely unintended consequence of sexual flirtation and the FDA stands ready to help the helpless out of this quandary. The same government structures that provide safe-sex manuals, ready access to contraception and a benign attitude towards promiscuity must now make ready another barrage of options that guarantee that these otherwise fruitful unions be transformed instead into the barren cost-effective wastelands that better serve the state.

Recent statistics out of England which show that repeat abortions are becoming commonplace and that even a sizable number of young women have had between three and five bring us to two diametrically opposed conclusions: first, that the non-judgmental shrug that accompanies the contraceptives for kids mentality is proving disastrous on every level; and secondly, that there is not only no desire to change it, but rather a plan to ramp up the creative efforts to minimize the damage.

Of course, introducing one more chemical fix to the "candy store" does nothing to counter the deeper problem that has created both a spiritual wasteland and a medical nightmare in the making. These young girls are increasingly from broken homes, have little parental oversight, are hooking up at very young ages and ultimately become unable to separate sex from their relationships. Thus, they never learn to relate to young men in meaningful and chaste ways, nor stand a chance of building the next generation within a framework of well-grounded marital unions.

Medically speaking, sexually-transmitted diseases are multiplying and morphing beyond our ability to stop them, so that chronic illness and sterility will form the ugly backdrop to these young people's lives. Despite the Center for Disease Control's campaigns marking April as STD awareness month and the current Get Yourself Tested push, every form of disease shows massive spreading setting records in all age levels and categories of people.

Thus, pregnancy is only the tip of the iceberg-the most visible outcome of the most sex-absorbed generation in history-and yet, often it's hardly even on the radar screens of hormonal youngsters with no moral boundaries. The FDA stands poised to consider adding a new pill to the arsenal for combating teen pregnancies, which will cater to their cavalier attitudes about intimacy, play havoc on the girls' reproductive systems and give them one more false illusion about how to dodge the consequences of their actions. Ella may be translated as "light" in some etymologies, but it is entirely dark in its present application. It may call to mind a helpless heroine, but at what point are these women to become accountable for their own actions. Surely, the young teenagers who are fed lies about the neutrality of sexual intimacy have been fed a vile pack of lies-but that makes it all the more incumbent on those who know the truth to expose the deception. Perhaps this summer we can collaborate in our leisure hours and come up with a plan to present to our local communities. We'll call it Plan C-for authentic charity demands that we save these youngsters from the abounding folly that puts every one of them at grave risk.



Genevieve Kineke is associate editor of Catholic Exchange and blogs at feminine-genius.typepad.com

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