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Should teenagers be given free condoms?

Should teenagers be given free condoms?

  • Of course! They need to have sex safely

    Votes: 47 50.5%
  • No, it only encourages them

    Votes: 23 24.7%
  • Other(Please elaborate)

    Votes: 23 24.7%

  • Total voters
    93
The cost isn't the issue, it is about making them readily available to kids so they can get them without risking being caught and/or embarrassed and so they to develop good habits. I don't care if they give them out free or have a vending machine, as long as the kids can access them without being watched.

Fine, then put vending machines in high school bathrooms then...but it's asinine for taxpayers to pay for something that the recipients can easily afford.
 
Actually I did.

Only 8-11% of 2 year olds have not had sex by age 22. (In many cases, not by choice I suspect) You are unusual. Policies need to be based on reality, not on the behavior of a small portion of the population.
 
Why should they be free? If you don't have the money to buy condoms, you don't have the money to raise a child.

Its much cheaper to supply a 38 cent condom than what it costs the government if a child is born.
 
What American teenager doesn't have 38 cents for sex?

Misses the point. Many kids will not buy condoms for a variety of reasons...embarassment being one of them.
 
Roughly 40% of teenagers have had sex by age 16. Providing condoms is proven to not increase sexual activity. Condoms are highly effective when used properly. Combined with birth control pills the chance of pregnancy is virtually zero.

Are you a victim of abstinence education? You seem to believe inaccurate information.

No, they are not highly effective. That's the point. People believe every word of what you just said, but the truth is condoms fail at alarmingly high rates, even when used correctly and in conjunction with other forms of protection.

If you and your partner(s) use condoms and birth control CORRECTLY for five years, you will get pregnant. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Pregnancy is guaranteed...GUARANTEED! Education does need to start with this fact. Condoms don't prevent pregnancy, they just reduce the frequency.
 
When I was in high school it was common for guys to carry a condom in their wallet, and occasionally show it off to other guys.

Given that guys don't delve too deeply in this kind of thing, no one ever asked if it actually got used or not. :lol:
 
Misses the point. Many kids will not buy condoms for a variety of reasons...embarassment being one of them.

Fine, then the put condom dispensing machines in high school bathrooms.

Happy now?
 
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No, they are not highly effective. That's the point. People believe every word of what you just said, but the truth is condoms fail at alarmingly high rates, even when used correctly and in conjunction with other forms of protection.

If you and your partner(s) use condoms and birth control CORRECTLY for five years, you will get pregnant. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Pregnancy is guaranteed...GUARANTEED! Education does need to start with this fact. Condoms don't prevent pregnancy, they just reduce the frequency.

You are plain wrong with this claim "If you and your partner(s) use condoms and birth control CORRECTLY for five years, you will get pregnant."

"Are condoms effective at preventing pregnancy?
Yes. When used consistently and correctly condoms* are 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. This is according to leading health authorities such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1,2
Are condoms effective at preventing sexually transmitted infections?
Yes. Condoms have been proven to provide protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In fact, condoms are the only contraceptive method that also provides STI protection. Condoms provide different levels of risk reduction for different STIs because infections are spread differently—some are spread by contact with bodily fluids while others are spread by skin to skin contact.
In general, research shows that condoms are most effective in preventing those STIs that are spread by bodily fluids, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV. Condoms also can reduce the risk of contracting diseases spread by skin-to-skin contact, such as herpes and HPV. However, condoms only can protect against these diseases if the sores are in areas covered by the condom.3
Do condoms provide protection against HIV?
Yes. Long-term studies involving couples where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is not (called serodiscordant couples) allow researchers to estimate the incidence of transmission among condom users and nonusers. Studies of these couples have found that consistent condom use reduces the risk of HIV transmission by between 80 and 94%.3,4

Do condoms break and slip off frequently?
No. When used consistently and correctly, condoms are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy and are the only form of birth control that also can prevent STIs.3,7,8 This is why it’s important to follow directions for correct use."

http://factsaboutcondoms.com/pdf/Condom Effectiveness FAQ 2.4.13.pdf





The perfect (proper) use pregnancy rate of COCPs (birth control pills) is 0.3% per year.

Trussell, James; Robert Anthony Hatcher, Felicia Stewart (2007). "Contraceptive Efficacy". In Hatcher, Robert A., et al. Contraceptive Technology (19th rev. ed.). New York: Ardent Media. ISBN 0-9664902-0-7.
 
Misses the point. Many kids will not buy condoms for a variety of reasons...embarassment being one of them.

Why do liberals treat being offended or embarrassed like bloody murder? Talk about wanting to be babied. :roll:
 
Why do liberals treat being offended or embarrassed like bloody murder? Talk about wanting to be babied. :roll:

Why do conservatives, like yourself, claim that all human dilemmas, human issues, human quests have to be categorized into conservative or liberal shortcomings or successes?

And of course...you as a conservative, would like to claim all of the successes that occur in human behaviors are conservative initiatives and efforts rather than any of the shortcomings, which you are so quick to label as liberal.

Now to be fair in my comment...I've seen it work the other way too. Some Liberals are constantly injecting the words "righties", "conservatives", etc.

It's my opinion...that if people could be randomly selected...asked if they were conservative or liberal....and then asked to define what that means to them in as much detail as possible...most wouldn't genuinely know or understand all of the philosophical elements which would make them one or the other.

I equate people who constantly call other people liberals or conservatives...are themselves mindless sycophants.
 
Why do liberals treat being offended or embarrassed like bloody murder? Talk about wanting to be babied. :roll:

Its not about keeping the kids from being embarrassed, it is about removing the barriers that keep kids from obtaining condoms when they need them.
 
Its not about keeping the kids from being embarrassed, it is about removing the barriers that keep kids from obtaining condoms when they need them.

Did you read the post I quoted? If you've read the thread, he wasn't the first to mention the cruel embarrassment for a teen buying condoms.
 
Should teenagers be given free condoms?




Of course we also need to warn them that condoms can fail

"Condoms aren't completely safe.A friend of mine was wearing one and he got hit by a bus." ~ Bob Rubin
 
Did you read the post I quoted? If you've read the thread, he wasn't the first to mention the cruel embarrassment for a teen buying condoms.

Embarrassment can be a barrier to kids obtaining condoms. I remember I had to overcome a lot of fear of being seen by someone I knew when I got some for the first time.
 
I replied no, because the idea that condoms = safety is seriously over stated. Even if you use condoms correctly, the chances of getting pregnant are pretty high. Even the chances of getting an STD are greater than most would care to take.

I would say 95%+ rate for condoms is relatively good, it's not 100% and we have to say but it's pretty damn close.
 
Its not about keeping the kids from being embarrassed, it is about removing the barriers that keep kids from obtaining condoms when they need them.

Yes, having to buy something is a barrier that we all have to deal with.
 
Embarrassment can be a barrier to kids obtaining condoms. I remember I had to overcome a lot of fear of being seen by someone I knew when I got some for the first time.

You apparently didn't know as a teenager there is more than one town.
 
I don't really think it's necessary. It's not like condoms are that expensive. Even if you buy them one at a time from a gas station vending machine, they're only like a buck apiece. If you buy a box of 12 they're less than half that. I can't imagine that many teens are having so much sex they can't afford that. Which leads me to believe that if they aren't already using them, despite their low cost, they aren't much more likely to use free ones.
 
Embarrassment can be a barrier to kids obtaining condoms. I remember I had to overcome a lot of fear of being seen by someone I knew when I got some for the first time.

So go to a town where no one knows you and buy them, or go buy some in a gas station bathroom where no one can see you.

Do you really think that the kids who are embarrassed to buy condoms will be any less embarrassed to go ask for free ones?
 
While I am fine with distributing free condoms, there is one aspect that bothers me.

It probably wouldn't save any money in government welfare programs because, well... due to baseline budgeting and the such government programs simply don't go backward in funding.
 
No, they are not highly effective. That's the point. People believe every word of what you just said, but the truth is condoms fail at alarmingly high rates, even when used correctly and in conjunction with other forms of protection.

You are badly misinformed about the effectiveness of various forms of birth control.

Pregnancy rates for condoms on average are 18 out of 100 over the course of a year.
Rates for couples who always use condoms correctly are 2 out of 100.

Pregnancy rates for birth control pills on average are 9 out of 100 over the course of a year.
Rates for couples who use them correctly all the time are less than 1 out of 100.

These rates are certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they are much lower than the rate of pregnancy among women using no method of birth control, which is 85 in 100.

Information like you're putting forth is a contributor to why some teens don't use birth control. They've been told wrongly that it's not very effective, so they figure why bother.

If you and your partner(s) use condoms and birth control CORRECTLY for five years, you will get pregnant. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Pregnancy is guaranteed...GUARANTEED! Education does need to start with this fact. Condoms don't prevent pregnancy, they just reduce the frequency.

Really? Because my wife and I had sex regularly for over 7 years using condoms every time, and birth control about half the time, and she didn't get pregnant at all. So much for that theory.
 
Only 8-11% of 2 year olds have not had sex by age 22. (In many cases, not by choice I suspect) You are unusual. Policies need to be based on reality, not on the behavior of a small portion of the population.

Or people should just learn to use some self-control.
 
Its not about keeping the kids from being embarrassed, it is about removing the barriers that keep kids from obtaining condoms when they need them.

So...

what about putting vending machines in high school bathrooms then...but it's asinine for taxpayers to pay for something that the recipients can easily afford?
 
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