We all do stupid things. Especially as stressed, overworked, poor, alcohol-loving college students away from school for a week on an exotic beach crawling with gorgeous members of the opposite sex — we all do stupid things.
Recognizing this reality, a pre-spring-break campaign by University Health Services advertised “stocking up” on various contraceptives (including the morning-after pill) before University of Wisconsin students hit the beckoning sexual havens scattered along the coasts of Mexico and Florida. The rationale behind the UHS advertisements was reasonable — it would be difficult for individuals to obtain contraceptives in unknown places and having resources at hand “just in case” would be wise lest something were to happen.
But according to Republican state representative Dan LeMahieu, the willingness of health services to provide prescription birth control to students is both a waste of taxpayer dollars (even though the UHS campaign was funded entirely by student segregated fees) and a motivating factor in their decisions to explore their sexual desires.
In response, LeMahieu is drafting legislation that would prevent UHS from advertising the morning-after pill or supplying it to students. He was quoted as saying that he is “outraged that our public institutions are giving young college women the tools for having promiscuous sexual relations, whether on campus or thousands of miles away on spring break.”
Now, I am far from being able to claim understanding of the female psyche, but somehow I feel that the availability of contraceptives does not act as the main sparkplug for women’s desires to partake in sexual activity (and I can personally assure you that it is not the primary determinant for men). Though most individuals wisely seek protection beforehand, being able to have safe sex is not the main reason people decide to have sex.
Personal opinions on premarital relations notwithstanding, the urge of young people’s uncontrollable hormones and drunken-inflated feelings of unrestricted lusting will not be deterred by the inability to access contraceptives. Rather, failing to make safe sex tools available would only ensure that the risks of pregnancy and disease would rise significantly. Indeed, college students having sex is not the problem. Unwanted pregnancies that lead to abandoned children and abortions are the problem. Sexually transmitted infections and the HIV virus, which has become a global epidemic, are the problem.
LaMahieu’s proposed legislation follows the illogical federally funded approach to sex education in schools that preach “abstinence only” and fail to teach students either same-sex practices or stone-cold facts. Let us recall the report issued several months ago by U.S. Representative Henry Waxman that revealed severe flaws and outright lies featured in the teachings of the Bush administration’s sex-education policy. Among the misinformation that young people were spoon-fed was that condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission in 31 percent of cases, half of all homosexual teenagers are HIV positive, mutual masturbation causes pregnancy, and abortion leads to sterility.
It truly is ironic that those who wish so desperately to prevent abortions adamantly seek to deprive individuals of the means to practice safe sex and prevent unwanted pregnancies. They live in a fantasy world where young people never yield to their sexual desires and believe that students’ decisions will be influenced by the opinions and lectures of politicians or the provisions of restricting legislation. College students are going to have sex — as it is a personal choice — and it can be done safely or stupidly. But that should be a responsibility of the individual, not the government.
It is disturbing to witness the eroding of the availability of safe sex methods, motivated by the fanaticism of the religious right and ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party. Their attempts to infringe unnecessary government regulations based on personal beliefs is nauseating, particularly when it entails abolishing individuals’ rights of choice and denying people resources to protect themselves. Perhaps we should just adhere to the advice of Matt Groenig’s “Basic Sex Facts For Today’s Youngfolk,” “When authorities warn you of the sinfulness of sex, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do not have sex with the authorities.”
Adam Lichtenheld ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and international studies.
