Safe sex working for everyone else

By Daniel Turner

Unfortunately for some people, safe sex can indeed be practiced. The author spreads another one of his fallacious arguments straight out of a pamphlet from church. No comprehensive sexual education program tries to claim that condoms are 100 percent effective; they give realistic figures on the 98 percent effectiveness of pregnancy and STD transmission prevention when condoms are used properly. The author says that “the pill and abortion are meant to take care of the rest.” Lumping the two together also makes little sense, as the pill is taken as a preventative measure, whereas abortion is the very last resort if something does fail. Many women use the birth control pill, which when utilized in conjunction with a condom brings the chances of pregnancy to an extremely low 0.02 percent. Sure there’s still a very minute chance, but there is a chance you could also be hit by a car riding your bike to class. Abstinence-only education does not teach students how to use condoms, leaving them in the dark when they do have a sexual encounter. Here is where we find the increased spread of disease and unwanted pregnancies. Sexual education programs need to teach teens how to use protection properly, because no matter how much you wish at night that other people weren’t having sex, teens are always going to. The antiquated idea of saving sex for marriage does not account for long-term monogamous relationships. Should a couple that has been dating for years and may even be living together (oh no! a SIN!) not have sex because they simply don’t have a marriage license? The many contradictions and archaic ideas that you put forth do not work for everyone, so quit trying to find a solve-all solution, it doesn’t exist, as people are different. Oh yeah, and, “Condoms, the pill, safe sex, and abortion” are four things, not three.