As the article (for this discussion) points out; from a strictly monetary standpoint, contraceptives may be cheaper than sinlge women (especially poor single women) having babies. But keep in mind that while all the chemicals and materials in an average human body (e.g., water, calcium, salt, etc.) amount to less than $100 to purchase or manufacture, the actual value of the person, the human being with his or her attendant personality and gifts, is incalculable.

I do not think my points are off-topic, and I am not preaching anything. There are more than a few factors that affect this issue and understanding them would naturally involve looking at the bigger picture, and taking a broader view than you seem to want to permit.

I used to work in a medical office doing billing for a surgeon. I dunno if psychology is the same, but in the medical world, everyone takes their cues from Medicare. All insurance companies will only pay what Medicare will, and if you want to receive your checks in a timely manner, you have to basically sign something promising you won’t charge any more than Medicare pays out. Which everyone does or they would never get paid.

Basically, it doesn’t matter if they only accept Medicare or accept private insurance: it all pays out the same. For the doctor anyway.

But you don’t get to come onto a thread and derail it by talking about things that are unrelated to the topic of the post while preaching your religion and claiming that abortion and sex outside of marriage are both wrong on a feminist blog. Those things are against the rules on numerous counts, as you will see by taking a look at our comment policy.

Plus, he totally Godwined up thread. I don’t think that invoking Godwin’s Law is technically in our comment policy, but it really should be.

I am simply pointing out that when we actually take a moment and think about the dignity of the other person (of all persons), and honestly try to understand how special each person really is, we would begin to see that we should treat each other with more respect. Indeed, this point extends far beyond sexual relations.

I happen to believe in God and so I expressed my idea using language associated with my world view (Roman Catholicism) and I do not see anything wrong with this. As you of course are entitled to your world view or life phiplosophy (which I did not and do not ridicule), and to express yourself accordingly, I also am entitled likewise.

But back to the dignity of Man. If each of us thought for a moment about this, we would try to encourage each other to live up to the hope that is within us, rather than (intentionally or unintentionally) tending via low expectations or cynicism, to pull ourselves and each other down to our most base level and insticts.

This is one reason Rev. Martin Luther King appealed to so many Americans. I was just a toddler when he died, but from films I have seen and books I have read about him, it seems that rather than scolding or belittling the nation, rather than using cycnicism, snide remarks or cutting sarcasm, he simply and directly reminded folks of the dignity of Man and the potential of this nation, and he honestly tried to encourage all Americans to at least try to live up to the ideals we profess.

This is a large topic but for now, in summary, I would simply say; I think that as a society, we are miles ahead when we actually try to see the inherent value of the other person, indeed the inherent value of all persons regardless of their background or state in life, and when we try to encourage each other to live up to the higher ideals we profess rather than just accepting our more base notions and tendencies.

Oh, that’s right. He’s a man. Obviously he knows best. I now renounce the previous sexual relations that I had with my husband when he was my boyfriend/fiance, in order to better celebrate the exact same sexual relations we have now that we are married. Clearly, they are precious and special, and before they were dirty, and wrong, and against some God I don’t believe in but Ken thinks I should.

/eye roll

Keeping in mind the dignity of each person, it is important to note that sex, because it is the Culmination of true love, of giving oneself Entirely to another (without reservation) while being open to having a child as a result, is no small thing. Far from being a small and/or insignificant matter, sexual relations are a very precious way in which married persons share their love for each other.

Sexual relations should be the Result of a courtship and marriage, not the beginning of a relationship.

Those who advocate sex anywhere with anyone, entirely miss the point about how decent and special each person really is. Rather than encouraging each other (either via advice or example) to embrace our more base instincts, we all do better (i.e., as a society, or community) when we encourage each other to embrace our better angels, to try to live up to the dignity that each of us – having been created by and in the image of God – inherently possesses.

“if you’re having sex with someone who can’t at minimum pay for condoms and/or go half on preventing you from becoming a human baby making-abortion factory then you’re screwing the wrong person.”

Is just the most hateful, classist, judgmental and just plain WRONG thing I’ve heard in a while.

FYI, if you’re speaking about HUMAN BEINGS and you describe them as a “factory” or judge who they should or should not fuck based on their partners wealth and education then YOU ARE A SHITTY PERSON.