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• Sunday, October 5, 2008 02:01 PM

  Foolproof my ass.

  We have nearly foolproof birth control now;

  I guess that depends on what you consider to be an acceptable failure rate and whether or not said failure would result in you becoming a "slave to your body" for the next nine months.

  Failure Rates in this chart are based on information from clinical trials submitted to the FDA during product reviews. This number represents the percentage of women who become pregnant during the first year of use of a birth control method... For comparison, about 85 out of 100 sexually active women who wish to become pregnant would be expected to become pregnant in a year.

  
  Male Condom, Latex/Polyurethane

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year):11

  Female Condom

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year):21

  Diaphragm with Spermicide

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year):17

  Lea's Shield

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year):15

  Cervical Cap with Spermicide

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): Prentiff Cap--17; FemCap--23

  Sponge with Spermicide

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 14-28

  Spermicide Alone

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 20-50

  That takes care of the relatively inexpensive and, at least in the western world, readily available means. But I'm sure the statistics below were what you were referring to:

  Oral Contraceptives--combined pill

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 1-2

  Availability: Prescription

  
  Oral Contraceptives--progestin-only minipill

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 2

  Availability: Prescription

  Oral Contraceptives--91-day regimen (Seasonale)

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 1-2

  Availability: Prescription

  Patch (Ortho Evra)

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 1-2

  Availability: Prescription

  Vaginal Contraceptive Ring (NuvaRing)

  Failure Rate (number of pregnancies expected per 100 women per year): 1-2

  Availability: Prescription

  http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/1997/babytabl.html

  So, while those of us fortunate enough to have health care and who are able to afford the expense, yes, relatively good, though far from foolproof contraception is out there (you still take the risk that you might be one of the 1-2 unfortunate souls who still gets pregnant per 100 women per year using these foolproof methods). If you are not, I guess, by your reasoning, you're just out of luck.

  there are those who would try to take care of the helpless infants that you would so coldly kill.

  It shouldn't take you long to figure out how many orphans exist currently in this world, so your statement above is demonstrably not true. And you don't know me, nor can you ever be inside the mind of any woman who faces the choice of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. So for you, or any other man, to suggest that these decisions are made in cold blood, or are in any way simplistic or easily arrived at, is decidedly out of line.

  I would love to live in a world where abortion, or killing of any other kind, did not exist. But the reality is very different.

  —Pedinska Read Pedinska's other letters
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