Although I appreciate Katie Kelly’s Friday column advocating awareness of birth control options for women, I thought it was only fair that women make a “well-informed, responsible decision” after being exposed to “all options,” as the title suggested (“It’s important to know all birth control options,” Nov. 22, pg. 3).
A major option that was left out of the list is abstinence. Keep in mind that I am a woman who has had her share of relationships, some as long as almost two years, and has never made the “mistake” of sex while practicing abstinence all my life. I have come to find that abstinence proves itself without fail to be a valuable and 100 percent effective option that has fallen out of sight, leaving women and men alike believing that it is no longer an option.
If anything, abstinence proves to be the best contraception. Abstinence prevents both pregnancy and disease, unlike most products, and has no side effects to make you ill or inhibit the natural biochemical functions of your body. Unlike the pill, you can feel free to smoke, drink and weigh more than 150 pounds while practicing abstinence without jeopardizing its effectiveness. You don’t have to worry about popping pills, putting on patches, getting shots or checking your family’s health history. You don’t have to consult a doctor for a prescription or worry about where the closest CampCo or 7-11 is. You don’t need to worry about it breaking while in use or breaking your wallet.
Abstinence is free — of cost, of pain and of worry. And the best benefit is that your relationship will be based on your personality — really!
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