Pregnancy in college?

Student Lounge College Life
161

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why do you present this (HYPOTHETICAL & FICTITIOUS) scenario as the rule and not the exception? it's extremely judgemental.</p>

<p>also, "the condom broke" and "i missed a pill" are both unfortunate things that could happen to anyone, and they do! until you're perfect, don't condemn anyone for their mistakes.
just last week, i went on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. luckily, i was informed enough to ask my doctor how the drug would affect my birth control. turns out, it does interfere, and until i start next month's pack, i should use a back-up form of protection as well. i don't think that it's necessarily common knowledge that certain medications can interfere with the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. if i hadn't known this and had gotten pregnant, would you call me an irresponsible "baby mama"?

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<p>Well I will first address the drug interaction. Unless your doctor prescribed you rifampin, any antibiotic/hormone interaction is extremely minor. Since rifampin is mostly used for tuberculosis, I would say that the chance oh him doing so is extremely small. Secondly, if you fill the birth control and antibiotic at the same pharmacy or using the same insurance, a Drug Utilization Review will alert the pharmacist as to the nature and severity of the interaction. </p>

<p>Secondly, it is much more of a problem than you think. So much that I would say it is definitely not the exception. If the person is too irresponsible to use birth control effectively, they should either stop having sex or use an alternate form of birth control. Ortho-Evra and Nuvaring are fine examples of this. There is also a shot out there that lasts 5 years, I think it's called Mirena? So there you have it...</p>

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<p>"The foremost purpose of sex is to procreate."</p>

<p>Does that mean that old people, homosexuals, or non-fertile people should never have sex.</p>

163

<p>^^^^I think she meant sex is here (genetically) to procreate. She is not saying that is the only reason people do it. </p>

<p>And if I answered your question I'd probably get banned from CC.</p>

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"The foremost purpose of sex is to procreate."</p>

<p>This does not apply to one night stands, drunken sex or rape.

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you're right, and it also doesn't apply to committed, monogamous people who want to experience the intimacy of sex without procreation, seeing as we are no longer living in biblical times where women's bodies were valued solely at their respective abilities to reproduce.
the idea of remaining chaste before marriage kind of disturbs me because it inarguably focuses on women and the one true "gift" they have to surrender to their husbands on their wedding nights, who thereafter essentially "own" it. why are women encouraged to guard their virginity? the practice places so much more value on women's bodies than their minds and insinuates that they have nothing else to give their husbands upon marriage but their bodies.</p>

<p>also, i'm glad viciouspoultry brought up the reality of unsafe, back-alley abortions in post #157. i think it's interesting how all of the people who call themselves "pro-life" on this board have not addressed this issue at all, even though it's been mentioned several times and certainly deals with preserving lives.</p>

165

<p>all your discussions are genuine and true in one form or the other. But, abortion has been discussed earlier in this thread. It would be better to read that first than adding up the posts, which repeat the same arguments, here. </p>

<p>Regarding sex: Previously, when birth control was not invented, sex mostly resulted to pregnancy --> reproduction. It is also to enjoy the physical pleasures and to form intimacy. </p>

<p>leah, u pointed about the issue of remaining chaste until marriage. I agree with u that this should not be a big deal. I personally do not care whether my wife will be a virgin or not.</p>

166

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In almost every case of abortion that I have known/heard of, the woman has later regretted it.

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And when they don't abort, the baby is either raised by someone who is not capable of doing so or given to the horrible foster system, which already has way more children than it can find proper homes for.</p>

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Should it be legal? Yes. Should it be used as birth control or a way out just because you're not ready to be a parent? No. Give it to someone who wants to have a baby and can't. They're not exactly hard to find.

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Of course they are hard to find. There are millions of children out there looking for a real family, and only a few families who are looking to adopt. Infertility is not common enough that you can find a good home for all these children.</p>

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my brother heard my nephew's heartbeat at six weeks into my sister-in-law's pregnancy. Are you seriously suggesting that even though it has a heart and a heartbeat, that to kill it is not murder?

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Until the baby is born, it's scientifically considered a parasite. If it can survive in an incubator, then that's fine. But if the mother does not wish to carry the baby to term, then regardless of what it may become or whether it will survive, she has the right to have it removed.</p>

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also, i'm glad viciouspoultry brought up the reality of unsafe, back-alley abortions in post #157.

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Yeah, it's the same thing as drugs...make it illegal and an unsafe black market just develops.</p>

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Previously, when birth control was not invented, sex mostly resulted to pregnancy --> reproduction.

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Previously, the infant mortality rate was very high. Now that it's so low, birth control is a necessity if overpopulation is to be avoided. Same with abortions.</p>

<p>Either way, the best thing to do is to make sure everyone is using contraceptives if they are not looking to have a child, so this isn't a problem in the first place.</p>

167

<p>So if a guy holds a gun to your head and says "if you ever try to leave me then I will kill you" and you stay with him fearing for your life and you have sex with him to keep from getting the **** beat out of you, and you end up pregnant, you should keep the baby and stay in that situation for the rest of your life because he intended to get you pregnant so you could never leave him? Abortion was the best choice and there is no regret. Actaully it is one of the best decisions made.</p>

<p>Nobody should have someone else tell them what they can and can't do. No pregnant teenage girl (or any other female) wants to stand in front of a court room full of people and say "here is my situation with the guy. may i please abort the baby?" and have the people judge her and her decisions. In many cases, waiting to go to court and having to tell someone a story like I mentioned above can result in many more problems that don't need to be brought up. I'm pretty sure that if that guy mentioned in the story above got a notice saying that he was being taken to court for threatening a life and rape, he would kill her. What happened to wanting to protect the girl's life? In this case, it would have killed her.</p>

<p>There are still many limitations on abortion. Here in Oklahoma, you have to be 18 or have parental consent. It's not like anyone and everyone can go run and have one. Also, when you go to get one, they do talk to you and make sure you are aware that there are other options and tell you some of the consequences. After the procedure, they then offer you birth control methods and advice on preventing another unwanted pregnancy.</p>

<p>I know people that have had 3+ in less than 3 years. That is just plain irresponsible, especially if they don't even try to get on birth control.</p>

168

<p>
[quote]
the idea of remaining chaste before marriage kind of disturbs me because it inarguably focuses on women and the one true "gift" they have to surrender to their husbands on their wedding nights, who thereafter essentially "own" it. why are women encouraged to guard their virginity? the practice places so much more value on women's bodies than their minds and insinuates that they have nothing else to give their husbands upon marriage but their bodies.

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</p>

<p>I don't know about every girl who's waiting for marriage, but I personally just feel that it will be that much more special if the first time I have sex is with the only man I will ever have sex with. For most girls, it's nothing to do with the "gift" portion of the argument, although I have indeed heard that before. It's wanting to have the intimacy of your husband knowing that he's the only man you've ever had sex with (and vice versa, although in my experience that's slightly less common).</p>

<p>I digress.</p>

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make it illegal and an unsafe black market just develops.

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</p>

<p>I've always hated this argument. It's always felt like such a cop-out to me..."They're going to do it anyways, might as well let 'em."</p>

<p>People are going to kill each other too. Should we make murder legal? People illegally download music every day, so we might as well go ahead and make that legal too. Before you know it, we're left with no laws.</p>

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Of course they are hard to find. There are millions of children out there looking for a real family, and only a few families who are looking to adopt. Infertility is not common enough that you can find a good home for all these children.

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<p>Maybe this is just where I live or something then. Because I've known quite a few couples who've told me, "If you ever got pregnant before you got married and/or were ready for a kid, we'd take the baby." Because they wanted a baby very badly, but were infertile and the adoption system was jumping them through so many hoops.</p>

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Previously, the infant mortality rate was very high. Now that it's so low, birth control is a necessity if overpopulation is to be avoided. Same with abortions.

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<p>Then use the pill, condoms, patches, and tons of other birth control that's already out there. But you aborting a baby just because "you're not ready" or "you never wanted to get pregnant" is, in my opinion, the ultimate act of selfishness.</p>

<p>EDIT: OKgirl...if that was directed at me, I have already stated (several times, in fact, if you bothered to read my posts) that I am for abortion in the case of rape, incest, or if carrying the baby to term will endanger the mother's life. However, abortion was never meant to be used for birth control purposes, and that's when it irks me.</p>

169

<p>

But in order for it to be judged as rape/incest, they have to go to court and tell people about the experience. That might result in the state pressing charges against the guy, which is just bad. So many girls are afraid of telling others about their story that they just try to miscarry or they end up abandoning the baby once it's born.</p>

<p>It's not like people say "hey let's have unprotected sex--I'll just have an abortion later if I end up pregnant". They are expensive and not many girls go running for them.</p>

<p>I don't remember who said it, but I also much rather have the state pay for abortions for the poorer people (the ones that would end up getting assisstance) because it would greatly reduce the number of kids that end up killed by their parents or living off of the system forever. I also think that if you have 2+ abortions in a close period of time, they should mandate that you get an IUD or birth control shot (no pills so that there won't be a chance of missing them). I know that sounds like the government once again telling you what to do, but seriously, some people are dumb and would just want to have one every month. I'm also one of those people who would have their child implanted with an IUD as soon as they start their period.</p>

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<p>"the idea of remaining chaste before marriage kind of disturbs me because it inarguably focuses on women and the one true "gift" they have to surrender to their husbands on their wedding nights, who thereafter essentially "own" it"</p>

<p>The worst are those "True Love Waits" sweatpants or rings. How can these supposedly anti-sexual girls advertise something so personal to the world? That proves that they are only saving themselves in order to show off to men. They might as well be strippers, it's the same mentality.</p>

171

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[Quote]
The worst are those "True Love Waits" sweatpants or rings. How can these supposedly anti-sexual girls advertise something so personal to the world? That proves that they are only saving themselves in order to show off to men. They might as well be strippers, it's the same mentality.

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<p>I have never seen anybody wear sweatpants that say that, but there is nothing wrong with wearing a ring that says that. There are not showing off to anybody.</p>

<p>And it is not just girls who wear purity rings. There are some guys that wear them.</p>

<p>Comparing strippers to somebody who waits to have sex is a VERY bad analogy.</p>

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<p>Well some aren't tacky, but the ones that say "I'm a virgin-TLW" on the front and then "Don't touch me, tease me, kiss me or please me" on the back are a little outlandish. Yeah, they sell this at Wal-mart in the True Love Waits aisle. </p>

<p>Rings are okay, but is the temptation really that bad that you need to look at your finger constantly to be reminded of your commitment?</p>

<p>Waiting to have sex is cool but don't advertise it or use it as bait. Like, "If you give me a diamond wedding ring we'll have sex!" Come on now. That's being a prostitute and TLW is supporting that.</p>

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[quote]
I've always hated this argument. It's always felt like such a cop-out to me..."They're going to do it anyways, might as well let 'em."

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Well, the ultimate goal is to prevent the pregnancy in the first place. Until then, you have to have some solution. This is a matter of damage control...if you strive for unrealistic goals in these cases, you will end up having done even worse than if you'd set your sights a little lower.</p>

<p>Moreover, at least in the case of drugs, there is scientific</a> evidence that the US's tougher drug policies have done nothing to prevent recreational drug usage. In actuality, the Dutch are half as likely to have tried marijuana, despite their lenient policies regarding the drug.</p>

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People are going to kill each other too. Should we make murder legal?

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No, get rid of gun bans and people will be able to defend themselves.</p>

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Then use the pill, condoms, patches, and tons of other birth control that's already out there. But you aborting a baby just because "you're not ready" or "you never wanted to get pregnant" is, in my opinion, the ultimate act of selfishness.

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That's an opinion. But it's a fact that the fetus is a parasitic organism until the day it is born. I don't see you clamoring to prevent people from having tapeworms removed from their bodies. Human or tapeworm, it's still a parasite, and the mother has certain rights, including the removal of that parasite.</p>

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<p>...you're comparing a human baby to a tapeworm.</p>

<p>Are you serious?</p>

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<p>The human body does not have a soul until 30 weeks after conception. fact.</p>

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...you're comparing a human baby to a tapeworm.</p>

<p>Are you serious?

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It's not a human baby, it's a fetus. A baby is defined as "A</a> very young human being, from birth to a couple of years old".</p>

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The human body does not have a soul until 30 weeks after conception. fact.

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I know your jk, but since some people like to use the 'soul' argument—that's a religious view, so it should not have a role in the creation of a law regarding abortion.</p>

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<p>To HGFM: Yep. A fetus could be defined as a parasite: "A parasite lives in a close relationship with another organism, its host, and causes it harm."
It could easily be argued that carrying a baby to full term causes any mother harm, be it life threatening or simply in the form of body changes.
What</a> is a Parasite?

[quote]
Then use the pill, condoms, patches, and tons of other birth control that's already out there. But you aborting a baby just because "you're not ready" or "you never wanted to get pregnant" is, in my opinion, the ultimate act of selfishness.

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Every single action that humans make are in some way selfish. This includes both choosing to keep the baby and choosing not to do so.</p>

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<p>It should be legal as long as the baby is terminated somewhere between conception and 3 weeks after birth</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Maybe this is just where I live or something then. Because I've known quite a few couples who've told me, "If you ever got pregnant before you got married and/or were ready for a kid, we'd take the baby."

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Maybe those couples aren't aware of the millions of children in Africa and Asia that would love to have a childhood in this country?</p>

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the adoption system was jumping them through so many hoops.

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Now that's a completely different problem, which also needs to be solved.</p>

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<p>Is the pro-choice (no matter what, I'm pro-choice in some circumstances only) argument really so frail that you have to stoop to dehumanizing the baby?</p>

<p>Baby, fetus, whatever. You can argue semantics all you want.</p>

<p>What if your mother had found out she was pregnant and decided she either wasn't ready to be a parent or didn't want another baby?</p>

<p>That "parasite" deserves a chance to live just as much as you do.</p>

<p>I would never look down on a woman who aborted a baby because she was raped or knew that carrying to term could kill her.</p>

<p>But would you rather carry it for 9 months and then never have to see it again if you didn't want to, or spend the rest of your LIFE knowing that you killed something that could have had a wonderful, productive life?</p>

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Maybe those couples aren't aware of the millions of children in Africa and Asia that would love to have a childhood in this country?

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<p>That's right, they're horrible people for wanting to help children living in the American adoptive system.</p>