Safety in sexual relations

I think the man should wear condoms in all situations (with the exception of wanting a child, of course... ). I mean, not only does it greatly lessen the chances of possibly contracting a life-ending virus, it also greatly lessen the chances of conception. If a woman becomes pregnant, she has to either get aborted (which I was told is abolute hell physicaly and emotionnaly) or give birth to the baby. In either cases, the man is care free (unless he pays for the abgortion or something, but I don't consider that a sufficient consequence). It's only right he wears the condom...

 

The only safe sex is when you are having sex with a person whom you trust unreservedly and are ready to accept all the consequences of having sex.

 

I mostly agree with Triactus, although plenty of people on these Boards will disagree, saying that all forms of contraception are evil because sex should be reserved purely for those who are going forth to multiply.

 

Condoms are horrible though. They don't feel nice and smell horrible (like burning rubber... or maybe that's just me!).

And the pill makes women moody sods. In this day and age, it's about time we had a contraceptive that never fails and has no side effects.

 

You know how they make flavored ones? Maybe they should make nice smelly ones?

 

Barmy, ever heard of polyurethane condoms? They're MUCH thinner (for this natural feel) and MUCH stronger than regular latex, plus they trasmit body heat and don't stink like latex ones. They're what I use, thanks to my allergy to latex, which has proven to be a blessing of some kind.

Not everyone has the built-in desire to reproduce, Harby. Sex is another dimension of love and it doesen't have to mean spawning offspring. *shrugs*

 

And even those that do, don't necessarily want 26 children.

 

What the hell are you talking about? You've never tried banana flavored condoms? I don't know about the taste, but they smell just like the real thing... As for the burnt rubber, maybe when the woman tells you to go faster, you go overboard...

 

Wrong! The only 'safe sex' is not to have any. So get married people.

There is one. It's called Don't Have Sex.

Gads, I'm on a roll tonight/day/whatever.

 

I don't quite know how to take it.. Are you joking or are you serious?

In the event you're joking : Hahaha, good one..

In the event you're not : Well... that's not really relevant. It's like talking about how to eat chocolate without having cavities, and you say to not eat chocolate. It's not what the conversation is about...

 

It is for some people. And those people have not yet entered the discussion.......

 

And while I believe you, I just want to say now that it's an argumentation mistake to talk about abstinence. We're talking about how to prevent disease and pregnency when having sex. Not having sex is a different question entirely.

 

Pill's utterly worthless; one of, if not the highest rate of conception of any birth control (barring Withdrawl of course), plus it offers no protection against STDs. I guess the only thing it's got going for it is you can't "forget to use it" in the passion of the moment.

 

@ IS,

"Utterly worthless" is a big stretch. Some birth control pills/patches are more effective than others, but on average they're about 90% effective. Condoms are about 98% effective, so they're indeed better. But since even the pricy condoms reduce sensation for men (not to mention being kind of a pain in the ass), committed couples usually consider 90% to be an acceptable figure and forego condom use. Women in this category often use a diaphragm to further increase birth control effectiveness.

Birth control pills have never claimed to (or were intended to) prevent the spread of STD's, so that's not really relevant. Committed couples don't have to worry about STD's anyway, unless one or both partners enter the relationship with one. Outside of a committed relationship, condoms (at a minimum) are the only way to go. The only smart way, anyway.

 

That 8% is a big deal (and it's not uncommon for pro-estrogen pills to be less effective then 90%) when the consequence is pregnancy.

As for the STDs, while it explicitly says they don't prevent STDs, that doesn't change the fact that you need something else to prevent STDs.

Diaphragms and female condoms are both more effective means of preventing pregnancies on the woman's side of things, while female condoms prevent most STDs and diaphragms allow for better transfer of body heat and are reusable (hence their popularity among married women).

 

Isn't that obvious? Why do you even need to mention this?

 

Because with a male or female condom you don't need another device to prevent STDs.

The pill has a relatively low rate of prevention coupled with an absolute lack of prevention of STDs. Never could understand why someone would choose this form of prevention. Spermicide, alone, if used correctly is more likely to prevent pregnancy.

Sure the pill was suppose to lead to sexual liberation, but has way too many drawbacks.

 

Again...isn't that obvious? As I said, the pill is intended only for preventing pregnancy. Sure, it's not AS effective as a condom, but I never said it was - and condoms have enough of a drawback that committed couples forgo their use. If you're worried about both pregnancy and STD's, use a condom. Otherwise in a committed relationship STD's are irrelevant.

Either you aren't reading what I'm saying or you're so intent on proving birth control bad that you aren't listening...because I'm not disagreeing with you. Stating the obvious ad nauseum isn't proving or disproving anything.

 

I'm not at all try to say birth control is bad, only that the pill is a relatively ineffective means of birth control (which has been swayed from extended family experience mind you).

All I have been doing in my following posts have been trying to explain to you why I don't like the pill, which is because I feel it is an ineffective form of prevention. I feel people would be better off using a birth control with a higher rate of success, specifically if that other form of birth covers more bases then the pill does.

I don't think birth control is bad. People are going to have sex for various reasons or another and the Earth's population is large enough. While actively controlling our population is difficult (and of questionable moral fiber), I can encourage people to take methods to prevent unwanted pregnancy, especially since adoption does nothing to deal with over population and I'm not touching the whole abortion dealo.