Sense or No Sense

Sense or No Sense

by Donna M. Carbone

One recent Saturday morning  I was enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the paper. My husband had the television on and was listening to a local news broadcast. My ears perked up when I heard the reporter state that “during a three-year test program in St. Louis, researchers found that the number of abortions was below the national average when women were given free contraception.” My reaction was intense. I had to physically resist the urge to smack myself in the head and yell, “No! Duh!”

The report went on to state that free birth control “dramatically lowered the rate of teen births.” Another smack – this one harder than the first. The statistics reported were 6.3 births per 1,000 teenagers in the study as compared to a national rate of 34 births per 1,000 teens in 2010.

Did we really need a test program to reinforce what has been perfectly clear for the last 400 years? That’s how long condoms have been around. The birth control pill has been available since 1960. Have we learned nothing in the 52 years since its introduction? 

I have long suggested that free condoms be made available in every drug store in the country. Just place a 50 gallon fish tank on the counter and let people help themselves. Accurate information on birth control should be included on every package plus a toll free number for people too embarrassed to ask questions. And… there’s the crux of the problem. We’ve been told since we popped out of the womb that sex is shameful.  Ironic, isn’t it?

Sex is not bad. Indiscriminate sex is dangerous. Sex without the proper information and the maturity to handle the repercussions is dangerous – physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Now, I can hear the critics of my plan screaming, “Condoms on counter tops! Teenagers will take them. You will be encouraging pre-marital sex.” No… the only things that encourage pre-marital sex are hormones. I will be encouraging all people, teens and adults, to take responsibility for their actions. I will be lessening the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. I will be eliminating one reason for abortion. 

Truth is that until we start talking honestly to our kids about human sexuality, until we remove the stigma of shame associated with sex, until we accept that sex is a vital part of life and that no amount of preaching abstinence is going to change that fact, a lot of unwanted babies will be conceived. A lot of those babies will never breathe fresh air.

Let’s go a step further. There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the Republican Party will take away a woman’s right to an abortion after a rape. If we removed that stigma of shame I mentioned earlier and women felt comfortable reporting a sexual assault, there would be no need for an abortion.

When a rape is reported, police and paramedics come to the scene. A preliminary report is taken, minor cuts and abrasions are tended to and then the survivor is taken to the hospital. There all necessary steps are taken to assure that a pregnancy does not result from the attack. No shame! No pregnancy! No abortion!

Sense or no sense… choose one!