I’ve lived for years in the West and the East, and I don’t see this as an East/West divide. Frankly, I don’t like to use hormonal contraception either. I’m not sure why you interpreted my essay as if it stated that women were obligated to take a birth control pill, because it definitely didn’t. Every person has a right to choose the form of contraception they prefer. It’s only abusive if they demand sex while refusing to come to a genuine, mutually-informed agreement with their partner about it — an agreement that simultaneously leaves their partner feeling safe.

As for the pull-out method, it’s better than nothing, but accidents can happen, and even when they don’t, pre-ejaculate fluid can still result in pregnancies and transmit STIs (the gential skin-to-skin contact can transmit STIs too).

But as long as both people are informed about and comfortable with those risks — and on the same page about them — then that’s not abusive. :)