Mother Teresa received criticism over the years, especially in recent years as debate about sex and abortion grew. Christopher Hitchens says that, instead of trying to help the poor, she encouraged them to endure pain and continue to suffer. Hitchens also thinks she was against ending poverty and raising the social status of women. Hitchens wrote a book on Teresa called "The Missionary Position". In an article for Slate, Hitchens writes "MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God".