Is it true that I have to use a birth control pill every time I have sex? I’ve never actually had sex before, but I want to learn about my birth control options before I start, and I don’t really know how it works. Rush Limbaugh isn’t responding to my emails.
I want to yell, “No, wait! You have to take the pill every day at the same time even when you are not having sex for it to be most effective,” but I really just want to let you know how honored I am to be considered for sex advice just after Rush.
While I know your unanswered emails must hurt, try to comfort yourself with the thought that if he does not respond to you, it is only because he is busy informing the sex lives of thousands of other women just like yourself.
Regarding your question, it is very responsible of you to think about birth control before having sex. There are a lot of different options. Do your homework and pick the one that is right for you.
A variety of hormone-based oral contraceptives must be taken regularly and for a few days prior to intercourse. Also, keep in mind that they do not protect against sexually transmitted infections.
Male and female condoms do protect against some STIs, but not all of them. Some only require skin-to-skin contact and can be passed between partners even if you are using a condom. Condoms also work well with spermicidal lube, which is both effective and pleasurable.
Alternatives include diaphragms and intrauterine devices as well as longer-term methods of birth control that involve surgery. Your gynecologist will be able to explain the intricacies of each and help you to find the method that serves you best.
Have fun, be safe and good luck with Rush.
Alex Bill is a junior studying psychology and criminology.
Being facetious?
Sounds like you are not as curious about the how-to of about oral contraceptives as you are about the latest verbal ignorance coming out of famous radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
In March, the radio personality accused Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke of being a “slut” while standing up before Congress for a friend who, despite having health insurance, lost the ability to afford birth control, which was needed for her ovarian cysts.
Limbaugh said the girl was having so much sex that her finances stopped keeping up with the amount of birth control needed for her extraneous romps.
However, The Huffington Post called out the “anti-science” radio personality because he failed to recognize that whether a woman acts like the Virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene, she still requires one pill each day.
Some women take birth control only for cycle control or because it helps stop acne from cycling out-of-control.
Others go on the pill to feel safe with their partner(s) and know that their future is secure from unwanted pregnancies, which are proven less likely the more education a woman receives. So it is no wonder two powerful, over-achieving women from Georgetown spoke so honestly to the government.
Fluke favors the Obama administration’s new healthcare plan that would guarantee women birth control if required for health reasons. Although some religious groups claim the bill steps on the toes of employers who morally oppose the pill, it is not asking taxpayers to fund a generation of sexed-up promiscuous women as Limbaugh suggests.
Maybe if he were actually getting some he would understand how the pill works.
Steph Doan is a junior studying journalism.
