MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. What are the barriers related to male birth control? Also, discuss the way forward.
Paper & Topic: GS II – Health-related issues
Model Answer:
What is male birth control:
- The practice entails the utilization of birth control pills, devices, and other measures.
- The barrier approach, intrauterine devices, surgery, and the hormonal approach are a few of the methods.
- There are numerous efficient therapies available to women, including tablets, IUDs, implants, injections, patches, vaginal rings, etc.
- There aren’t many good options available to guys, and those that do exist are scarce.
- 20 percent of withdrawal attempts fail.
Barriers related to male birth control:
- The most recent method of male birth control developed since the 1980s is the “no-scalpel vasectomy.”
- The development of male contraception has received backing from the WHO, governmental organisations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs); nonetheless, their infrastructure for generating drugs cannot compete with that of big pharma. They are run by clinical research organisations and a small team. Financial constraints provide yet another barrier.
Way Forward:
- Women have traditionally made the decision about birth control. According to the National Family Health Survey-4, only 0.3% of males opt for a vasectomy, compared to 36% of women.
- Men have access to safe, inexpensive, and reversible male contraceptive methods, which let them take part in activities and share responsibilities while reducing the likelihood of unintended pregnancies.
Conclusion:
- Polls indicate that individuals are open to novel male contraceptive methods, although the majority of population control activities have focused on female contraception.
Q2. What do you understand by Conversion Therapy? What are its significance and way forward?
Paper & Topic: GS II – Health-related issues
Model Answer:
Conversion therapy: What is it?
- Reparative treatment or conversion therapy refers to a variety of procedures intended to alter a person’s gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender expression.
- The young LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, etc.) group is the target of these actions.
- This therapy may involve exorcisms, electroshock therapy, psychosomatic medication, or even psychiatric care.
What recent events have taken place?
- Conversion therapy will henceforth be recognized as professional misconduct, according to the NMC/National Medical Commission, the main regulatory body for medical practitioners.
- The NMC has also given written notice to all State Medical Councils that they may now penalise patients who participate in such therapy.
What makes this important?
- A significant step toward quackery’s prohibition was taken with the most recent NMC statement.
- The majority of doctors have long opposed conversion therapy. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry asserts that conversion therapy has neither been shown to be clinically effective nor to be backed by research.
How do we approach it?
- The most recent action by NMC is another small step in the correct path, if the legalisation of homosexuality in 2018 was a first step in that direction.
- To make the neighbourhood feel safer, a lot of work still has to be done.
Conclusion:
- The Indian culture and its institutions still have a long way to go despite the recent NMC verdict, which enhanced inclusivity and outlawed quack medicine.
