Hello yellowdandelion~
Your question riled me up a bit...but I’ll reserve my personal
comments for later :) For now, here are the facts on the effectiveness
of the pill:
According to Planned Parenthood, “combination pills are somewhat more
effective than progestin-only pills. Fewer than one out of 1,000 women
who use combination pills will become pregnant with perfect use. Five
out of 1,000 who use progestin-only pills will become pregnant with
perfect use.” (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/bc/you_and_pill.htm )
The key here, of course, is “perfect use.” But you’ll find that “real
life” statistics show that almost no woman takes the pill
“perfectly”--taking it at exactly the same time each day. (What human
can honestly call themselves “perfect,” after all?)
A more accurate chart (found at
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1997/conceptbl.html ) details that
for the “combined” and “mini pill” the “typical rate of pregnancy is
5%.” So, the “real life” figures are that the pill is 95% effective.
One site states that “some 30% of women use the pill incorrectly and
only about 40% of women take the pill regularly – every day.” (
http://www.improvingsex.com/articles/birth.control/birth.control.myths.htm
... CAUTION: there's some explicit content on this site.)
As for how many American women get pregnant on the pill, a recent ABC
news story says that women in the U.S. have a 6.9% failure rate in the
first year of use of this contraceptive. This means, they say, that
millions of women get pregnant while on the pill (
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/pill000814.html ).
Interestingly, it was difficult to nail down any exact numbers on how
many women per year get pregnant on the pill. (Possibly because a
certain number of pregnancies go unreported.) However, one site
states: “In actual use pregnancy rates range from 1.7 to 10.5
pregnancies per 100 women in the first 12 months in 21 surveyed
countries.” (http://www.jhuccp.org/pr/a10/a10print.shtml ) I could
find no source for the quote that 333 American women get pregnant on
the pill each year.
These quotes about effectiveness also don’t take into account that
certain drugs (prescription and otherwise) can make the pill
ineffective. These include some antibiotics, seizure medications, and
over the counter herbs. Vomiting and diarrhea may also keep the pill
from working. Therefore, back up birth control methods are suggested.
The woman in question should also realize that if she becomes pregnant
while on the pill, and doesn’t realize it, the pill may abort her
child. Also, some women are affected adversely by the birth control
pill, and suffer from everything from nausea to serious health
problems. ( http://www.unm.edu/~shc1/pill-side-effects.html )
I can find no statistics regarding pregnancy rates when using both the
condom and the pill (except for the important fact that NO birth
control method--except abstinence--is 100% effective, so using two
methods would “hedge your bets”). The real issue with regard to
condoms is that they protect (somewhat effectively) against STDs
(http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/condoms.htm ), not the least of
which is AIDS. “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), estimates
there are 850,000 to 950,000 people who are HIV positive (HIV+) in the
United States,” states AIDSMeds.com. “Of that number, the CDC
estimates that more than 25% are unaware of their HIV status.” (
http://www.aidsmeds.com/lessons/HIVtests1.htm ) The recommendations
for AIDS testing state: “For the vast majority of those who will test
positive, antibodies to HIV will develop within 4 - 6 weeks after
exposure. Some will take a little longer to develop antibodies. To
make certain that you receive a reliable test result, it's necessary
to wait at least three months (13 weeks) after your last possible
exposure to the virus before being tested. Getting tested before three
months may result in an unclear result or a false negative. Some
testing centers may recommend testing again at six months. All but
less than 1% of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within
three months (seroconversion is the development of detectable
antibodies to HIV in the blood as a result of infection.) It's
extremely rare for seroconversion to take more than six months to
develop detectable antibodies. No diagnostic test will ever be 100%
reliable, but if you test negative at the appropriate time (i.e., 13
weeks after possible exposure to the virus), you can consider that to
be a dependable confirmation that you are HIV negative.”
(http://www.aidsmeds.com/lessons/HIVtests4.htm )
Doctors advise those who are sexually active (outside of a long-term
relationship), to test at least once a year. If someone is using
drugs, they should also be tested repeatedly each year. Medical
personnel, or others in contact with bodily fluids, should also get
regular testing. Those with other STDs, including herpes, should be
tested, as well. Doctors also tell us that ALL men should wear condoms
when having sex outside of a long term committed relationship. Why?
Because there’s a lot we still don’t know about AIDS.
Now for my personal reactions:
I have real concern that the woman in question apparently didn’t ask
these questions herself. I can’t help but feel that if she can’t be
responsible for such an important decision in her life, then she isn’t
mature enough to be having sex.
I also have to add that the man in question can’t love his girlfriend
very much, if he isn’t *at least* willing to wear a condom for her
sake. That isn’t love. It’s selfish lust.
I’d suggest the lady read the following articles:
“Put That Condom On!”
http://www.thesite.org/magazine/specials_shame/female_shame/put_that_condom_on!.html
“My Boyfriend Won’t Wear Condoms”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/features/whats_the_problem/relationships/020104_relationships_condoms.shtml
“My Boyfriend Won’t Wear A Condom”
http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/palms/3595/condom.html
“What Can I Do?”
http://www.cyh.com/cyh/youth/questions/questions_detail.stm?qa_id=87
“When I Want Him To Use A Condom”
http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/Archive/PreventionSexual/Q8990.html
“Talking To Your Partner”
http://www.uml.edu/student-services/counseling/condom/conmain.html
I sincerely hope this helps. If I can offer further clarification,
please don't hesitate to request it.
kriswrite
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