H 32°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°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.
IP hash: 823595e8
“the urge of young people's uncontrollable hormones ” I disagree. Obviously some young people are able to control their hormones. But, that aside, I don’t think birth control is a bad thing. I’m not sure how I feel about the morning after pill.
IP hash: e3160ad7
getting drunk is a mere reality of college also. Therefore taxpayers should pay for it and the damage you do while you are drunk.
murder is “merely reality” of urban living. Therefore we should spend taxpayer dollars to support it.
That is right adam, anything that can be called a “mere reality” needs to be funded by taxpayers. Your logical reasoning is truly elite- ivory tower liberal elite that is.
IP hash: 290b3888
Ha! Killing Pakistanis and Indians, that’s fine. 100,000 Iraqi civilians? That’s okay, too. Loosening pollution standards? The government (and our tax dollars) do support those. Yet you’re more concerned with a girl taking an elevated dose of birth control pills because the condom broke?
A legitimate culture of life would mean respecting life in not only the present but also the future, leaving the best possible heritage for our descendents. (hint: our government is not doing this)
But no, you will continue to depend on your stereotypes, preferring to see those that disagree with you as ‘ivory tower liberal elite’s rather than people who, just like you, fundamentally want to do the right thing. Have you ever even talked to a girl that had to use the morning after pill? If you’re a straight guy, have you had to comfort your girlfriend, sobbing because she realized the condom broke and was now faced with a terrible decision? Easier to just see her as some dumb slut, huh?
IP hash: 1797ce17
Why can’t those who need birth control and condoms buy it themselves here in Madison before they leave? Is that too much to ask? Instead of ALL students through seg-fees having to buy condoms for the very few guys (despite what you’ll hear) that had sex over spring break. Is it really the University’s job to freely provide something that is cheaply and widely available at every drug, convienence, grocery store, gas station, etc.?
IP hash: 7de6d78c
I highly doubt that the free condoms distributed by UHS are draining the seg fees account and leaving the UW and its students broke. Give me a break. If this is the only way to help these kids have safe sex, whether with a condom, or birth control pills, or EC, then I say Thank You, UHS
IP hash: a2aef26f
“ivory tower liberal elite”
This old phrase? I thought conservajerks had moved on from that one to “freedom-haters” and “want Schaivo to die-rs”.
Fact: Abortions have increased under Bush due to the widening poverty gap and a decrease in birth control centered sex education.
No thinking person thinks abortions are a good thing
No thinking person believes that making abortion illegal would stop it from happening.
Fact: Abstinence programs simply do not work. If common sense didn’t tell you this then multiple studies will. Go Google them.
Lets just think about this my conservative friends. You don’t like birth control, but you don’t like children out of wedlock. Your answer is that people should practice self control. I agree.
However, obviously people don’t practice this. No matter how many social programs Bush cuts a bunch of unwanted children that are raised in poor conditions because their parents didn’t have the money to raise them properly are going to negatively affect you! that’s right, you!
This really irks me. You want people to have children that they don’t want and then refuse to provide them any relief from their burden after they are forced to have an unwanted child.
If you really dislike abortion, the logically consistent position is that you would educate people on how to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Your ideology is blinding you here.
Liberals don’t like abortion either. It’s just that we acknowledge that humans are sexual creatures while you neo-cons think we are all Puritans…Well, guess what? The Puritans had sex! How else did GW and his blueblooded family rise to power over the years?
IP hash: e246e685
To the second poster: Ummm, if you actually read and understood the article, the UHS program was NOT funded by tax dollars but by student seg. fees. It was only the ADVERTISEMENTS—students still actually have to pay for the contraceptives (unless insurance picks them up) so it’s not like they’re handing out the morning after pill freely like candy….I guess we should yell at Sex Out Loud for handing out free condoms then, huh?
IP hash: e246e685
To the second poster: Ummm, if you actually read and understood the article, the UHS program was NOT funded by tax dollars but by student seg. fees. It was only the ADVERTISEMENTS—students still actually have to pay for the contraceptives (unless insurance picks them up) so it’s not like they’re handing out the morning after pill freely like candy….I guess we should yell at Sex Out Loud for handing out free condoms then, huh?
IP hash: ada3c268
Wow, that guy’s only a sophomore?? It looks like he’s about 30 years old in that pic.
IP hash: 277de2b5
“Wow, that guy’s only a sophomore?? It looks like he’s about 30 years old in that pic.”
Wow, you’re a dumbass.
IP hash: 29069a7b
Condoms are for sissies.
IP hash: 7f621d70
overworked and stressed out…i could not pick two words that less accurately describe students