Yesterday, August 12, was International Youth Day. Accordingly, Huffington Post chose to use this occasion to synecdochically equate youth to their reproductive organs. They would have us believe that our human dignity lies in accidental features, instead of in the very essence of who we are. They would have us believe that our empowerment lies in nothing more than easy access to a pill.

John Seager of Huffington Post writes: “One of the most important obstacles (in empowering youth) is lack of access to family planning and sex education…the empowerment of youth is dependent on their ability to make decisions on their ability to make decisions about the course of their own lives. Lack of reproductive services prevents that.”

Do you know what empowers me, Mr. Seager?

I am empowered by friends who will my good, and by my family who loves me unconditionally. I am empowered by the education that I have received, and by the books of my childhood. I am empowered by mountain-top experiences, but also by rock-bottom failures. I am empowered by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by His love for me and for the human race. I am empowered by the affirmation of my intrinsic dignity as a human being, both by myself and by others.

But I will never be empowered by a mere pill.