yguy

If knowledge about contraceptives doesn't cause them to copulate like rabbits, then just why DO they copulate like rabbits, when they didn't do it nearly to that extent 50 years ago?

dk

Along those same lines ...

"Teens with more educated mothers and teens in two-parent families were also less likely to have had intercourse in 1995. " --- U.S. Pregnancy Rate Lowest in Two Decades

Loren Pechtel

Because they got married back then.

That's the real change--teen sex is far more in the open now.

yguy

Pre-teens were not getting married back then. And I doubt you can support the idea that teenagers who DID get married had multiple sex partners to the degree that is common today.

everlastingtongue

Has copulation increased since the 1950s? I would like to see the historical data you base this on.

You contend that contraceptive knowledge somehow increases copulation – do you have any data to support this?

Regardless, this is an abortion thread – the concern is not copulation, but rather fertilization, and the effects and choices thereafter.

nermal

I don't think there's much question that teens are having sex far more often, with more partners, and at a younger age than in the 50s. I haven't any data on hand, but will look. I have read significant data to that effect, however.
I don't think the availability of birth control is a cause, however, since one of the big problems with teen sex is that they don't use birth control.
I do think it is a general societal trend caused by many factors, one being the aftermath of the sexual revolution of the 60s. Another being less parental involvement than in the 50s, ie. one parent families, both parents working, etc.
No doubt these aren't the only causes, I'm sure the list is quite long.

Ed

Jon Curry

Yeah, you're right. Making abortion illegal won't stop all abortions. For that matter, laws against killing innocent adults doesn't stop murder, so laws against murder just aren't practical. We should do away with laws against murder. Stealing, rape, assault. All of these things continue to happen. We should abolish all laws, because even with laws, crimes still occur.

yguy

I have contended no such thing. You mistakenly assume my question was rhetorical.

everlastingtongue

An abortion ban in the U.S. would only affect those without the funds to travel to another country where it is legal. Do you know of any country where stealing, rape, assault, or murder is legal? If so, how many potential victims will blindly follow the criminal to this place?

Though I might be inclined to agree that wealthy people, in general, have better access to legal council and therefore a reduced chance of conviction, I would assert that a murder, rape, etc. ban is, in practice, far more universal than an abortion ban would be.

everlastingtongue

I apologize for my misunderstanding of your post.