This is a difficult piece to write as almost everyone today will quickly point to how effective contraceptives are at preventing pregnancies. Some will also point to how effective they are at preventing the spread of STIs. I don't doubt the studies performed though I'd like to insert my own spin on this topic.
Let's take one of the more common forms of contraceptive, the condom. How effective is a condom at what it claims to do? You'll hear the 98% figure a lot. But note that this 98% figure refers to the chance of success every single time you use it. This also assumes correct use of the condom. But say you have 5 independent sexual encounters. What would you say is the chance at least one of those times involves a failure in the condom?
Since these are independent events, we take them separately. The probability that all 5 encounters will end in the condom achieving its goal would be 0.98 x 0.98 x 0.98 x 0.98 x 0.98 or 0.98^5 or 90.39%! That means that there's practically a 1 in 10 chance that one of those encounters involved a failure. The more encounters you do, the higher the rate of failure. Remember, it only requires one failure in the condom for an STI to be passed. Pregnancy, which still depends on the woman's fertility might not happen as often.
To put things into perspective, one need only have sex 35 times to have a 50% chance of failure one time. Or just 15 times to have a 25% chance of failure one time. When condom manufacturers say that there's a 98% success rate, do not believe them. Planned parenthood even puts the efficiency of condoms at a much lower rate (85%). You can check their website for that info.
So when lawmakers and some medical practitioners say that it's "safe" to have sex as long as you use a condom, it's simply not true. While I'll admit that not using a condom will most definitely open you up to bigger chances of STIs and pregnancy compared to using a condom, there's always a better more effective option - abstinence has absolutely no chance of giving you an STI or getting a woman pregnant, for example.
Other family planning options like Natural Family Planning (NFP) involve both the woman and the man in family planning and results in the man understanding more how his wife's body works in all their intricacies. Slapping on a condom, while more simple, does not take into consideration the natural cycles of the woman. If you're thinking of a true feminist method, NFP has got to be the way to go. Other forms of contraceptives are simply a guy's way to convince a girl to have sex more than she actually wants.
If you still think that contraception is the right way for you, go ahead but educate yourself. Remember that whatever they advertise as the effectiveness rate is just that, an advertisement claim. Remember also that there exists one way to absolutely be sure that no pregnancy will occur. It might be more difficult, but it's 100% effective.
Other family planning options like Natural Family Planning (NFP) involve both the woman and the man in family planning and results in the man understanding more how his wife's body works in all their intricacies. Slapping on a condom, while more simple, does not take into consideration the natural cycles of the woman. If you're thinking of a true feminist method, NFP has got to be the way to go. Other forms of contraceptives are simply a guy's way to convince a girl to have sex more than she actually wants.
If you still think that contraception is the right way for you, go ahead but educate yourself. Remember that whatever they advertise as the effectiveness rate is just that, an advertisement claim. Remember also that there exists one way to absolutely be sure that no pregnancy will occur. It might be more difficult, but it's 100% effective.
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