Sex yields more than procreation

I just want to make sure people are aware that they do not have to take Scott Newbolds' letter to heart. He asks us to "think about it and aim higher." Note that he means we should aim for only having sex within marriage and without contraception.

Well, Scott, some of us have a different idea of what it means to aim higher. I am aiming higher by taking the Pill so I won't have a child until I finish my degree and can get a decent job to support one with. If you think that means my husband and I are not attaining "fullness of love," then I say you've never really been in love.

I want to tell readers that his two "purposes of the sexual union" are incorrect. There is only one reason ever to have sex: because you and your partner want to.

Why you want to is another matter. Maybe you want a child. Maybe you're in love. Or maybe you just find each other tremendously attractive. What's important is that you have enough respect for each other to protect against STD transmission if there's any doubt as to whether you have one, and to protect against pregnancy if you're not ready to be a parent.

Being married does not mean pregnancy is not a problem, whatever Newbolds may think. I don't know about him, but I want the best for my children. That means not having one until I can afford to support her financially, and that means having few enough that I have the time and energy to support them all emotionally.

I'd say that if you don't think such things are as important as "giving totally of oneself" by refusing to use birth control, that's your business, but I don’t believe that. I believe that if you bring a child into the world, you have a responsibility to give that child the highest quality of life possible.

Juno Farnsworth

School of Consumer and Family Sciences

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