The video is its own beautiful new genre: Abstinence Dada.

all cars are replaced with unicorns and I solve crimes with my Ph.D. supermodel best friend. 

I would so watch that show…

As a product of the Texas Abstinence Education Program, I am happy to say that I tapped it regularly in college without ever actually engaging in the morally questionable practice of “getting married”.  Wait, did I get that lesson backwards?  Oh well.  They were so busy teaching us to roll dice in order to determine what horrible STD we’d get and informing us that 1 in 4 of our classmates had Chlamydia while pitching us videos about the links between teen sex and teen suicide, I must have slipped up on the chapter that venerates good straight Christian marriage above the godless body-slapping that will most likely lead to my physical and emotional collapse in future years.

Needless to say, I didn’t actually learn much about STDs, how they are spread, or how to treat or prevent them.  I just learned that sluts and man-whores surround us, and that only the blessing of a priest and the sacrament of matrimony will save me from getting anal herpes from a drug-addled prostitute in a cheap motel when I’m 30.

Lesson learned, I guess.

i wish i could figure out how to STAY SIGNED IN

sorry, not useful.

what i mean, is that if they want parents to do sex ed, why the fuck are they ALSO giving this stupid abstenence education??? it doesn’t work, and isnt there a thing about keeping political agendas out of schools? or is that just a fantasy on par with yours…

i guess i got VERY lucky. my mom is a ob/gyn nurse practicioner. i have gotten the Talk since i was seven. and im 31. so its well emplaced now

all cars are replaced with unicorns and I solve crimes with my Ph.D. supermodel best friend.

Joss Whedon’s Taylor, this fall on Fox.

Of course, I never remember just stopping after showering together.  So maybe it should be a kind of a green turning to yellow or something like that. 

On the other hand I don’t believe that I ever showered together on the first date.  At least not before anything else.  It just wouldn’t have been right.

Umm…ok, this part’s really baffling me.  Wrapping up condoms as a present for before a romantic dinner? Are there people brain-dead enough to actually do that, or even to claim people do that when they’re not trying to set up a nice fat straw man about sex ed? Or am I just holding on to some of that youthful naiveté that lets me get through the day without crying?

I was the most boring, conventional, establishment kid any high school ever saw.  And even I knew that anything presented to you as “Straight Talk!” was bullshit unless proven otherwise.

Duke estimates that after hearing a Teen Straight Talk program, up to 90 percent of the students commit to staying abstinent until marriage, based on evaluations that are collected after every program.

Bwahahahaha, bow before Duke and his awesomely effective program.

In related news, condoms are 100% effective, based on intent-to-use evaluations that are collected at the time of every condom purchase. [I can haz mi federal foonding now?]

I was always a left wing kid but abstinence only education at Catholic school did a number on me. On a conscious level I knew it was all nonsense but on the subconscious level I was very afraid that sex would do terrible harm not only to me but to anyone I had sex with. And on some level it’s still with me at the age of thirty. Technically it “worked” in the sense that I avoided sex until adulthood (though not marriage) but at the cost of having deep discomfort with my own sexuality. Ah, psychological abuse.

Umm…ok, this part’s really baffling me.  Wrapping up condoms as a present for before a romantic dinner? Are there people brain-dead enough to actually do that, or even to claim people do that when they’re not trying to set up a nice fat straw man about sex ed? Or am I just holding on to some of that youthful naiveté that lets me get through the day without crying?

You are under the deluded assumption that people who complain about sex ed classes promoting promiscuity were ever going to get laid in the first place.

Ron: Maybe a flashing yellow?  You know, where you’re supposed to, like, yield and stuff, but it’s not an all out stop?

Charles-
My guess as to were they get this idea is that for valentine’s day sex awareness or health groups on college campuses often sale Condom Roses to raise money and awareness about safe sex.

Ugh, I had those dice-rolling people show up at a health fair at my school once (otherwise, we received non-crazy sex-ed) when I was in 7th or 8th grade. They (they being a scary old lady and her scary old lady sidekick) asked me something like, “What happens if you think you’re going to have sex with someone,” and I gave the the obvious answer of “Wear a condom.”

Then they hand me a die, have me roll it. As soon as it stops rolling, Scary Old Lady says, “The condom breaks. What now?” All I could manage was “...wha?” Of course, this devolved into a lecture on why sex is Bad, Bad, Bad and you absolutely definitely not have it, even with a condom because they break all the time or something. Whatever. What I most clearly remember is how mortified and uncomfortable I felt. I felt dirty, and though I couldn’t articulate it at all, I kind of knew that I’d been manipulated. It was a really gross feeling. I wasn’t always comfortable with the real sex-ed I was getting (cause I was, y’know, not at all prepared for sex), but it never left me feeling that way. My health teachers always made me feel respected and intelligent. Any damn fool should know that you can’t teach middle schoolers by making them feels stupid.

The point is, I just had one transient encounter with that insanity, and I really think that an entire educational program built on those principles must constitute emotional abuse. Lying to kids and making them feel like sacks of shit in order to push your agenda is just wrong. Comprehensive sex-ed is agenda free. Abstinence-only education is the brainchild of a bunch of sick, manipulative fucks. That’s how it is.

grolby - Worst game of Dungeons and Dragons EVER.

The main thing my abstinence only sex ed left me with is the constant fear that I’m going to get pregnant despite using contraception.  Seriously, I’m afraid I might get pregnant almost every time I have hetero sex, and at least once per male partner.  Of course I still have sex, and since I’m kind of against marriage I don’t think I’ll ever have sex that could not be described as pre-marital.  I’m just really fucking paranoid about it.  Which makes sex with women seem a lot more attractive as an option.

Abstinence Only Sex Ed:  Turning Bisexual Girls Into Dykes Since 1998!

Then they hand me a die, have me roll it. As soon as it stops rolling, Scary Old Lady says, “The condom breaks. What now?”

Worst D&D;game ever.

On a serious note:

up to 90 percent of the students commit to staying abstinent until marriage, based on evaluations that are collected after every program.

Bravo to the 10 percent of the students who aren’t willing to tell the crazy people what they want to hear to get them to leave them alone.

Curse you Charles!

I once showered with someone on the first date. But there were extenuating circumstances. And it didn’t lead to sex. Not right away, at least.

It occurs to me that all these people who actively promote “abstinence only” and who torture children with this crap those are the people who’ve forgotten what it’s like being a kid.

Why can’t sex ed be taught in biology class?  What’s wrong with showing people where and what a clitoris is? 

These abstinence flunkies all want to live under shari’a.  They fear temptation so they want to eliminate it.  Too bad, that’s some pretty weak faith you have if you can’t follow your morals and church teaching if there’s any other option.

And don’t these folks want their kids to have sex?  They DO want to be grandparents someday.  Knowing how to prevent pregnancy pretty much = knowing how to get pregnant.

I was so lucky in school.  We had a substitute in health ed for 3 days covering sex ed.  He would actually watch the film strips BEFORE submitting us to them, and would only show a few frames b/c the rest was garbage.  He let people laugh, but let them know it was okay to talk about sex responsibly.  Everything was a choice—> whether or not to have sex, when to have sex, with whom to have sex.  They were all legitimate options.  He absolutely rocked.

Then idiot teacher got healthy and came back.  Started showing strips that said ‘homos are pedophiles’ and pronounced amniocentesis as “amino synthesis” and shut everyone down.

where all cars are replaced with unicorns and I solve crimes with my Ph.D. supermodel best friend.

Jesse, what’s the point of having a supermodel best friend if you both have to stay unicorn-qualified?  Or does oral not count with unicorns?

Also note that “up to 90 percent of the students commit to staying abstinent until marriage” =/= 90 percent of students actualy staying abstinent until marriage.  I’d like to see those figures.

I’ve heard too many horror stories about abstinence ed teachers to try to give these clowns the benefit of the doubt anymore. I seriously submit that anyone who takes THAT keen of an interest in the sex lives of teenagers and delights in shaming and traumatizing them has some pretty serious pederast sundaes up in their brain, with a sprinkling of sadism jimmies on top.

[Concerned friend] “Have you read over these materials? They’re very graphic. I’ve read through this book over and over again and marked down all of the truly outrageous passages and I’m still hot and both—-erm, I mean, concerned… at what the schools are teaching our children.”

[Dingy mom with daughter who keeps nervously glancing over like mom’s about to just haul off and hit her without provocation] “Are you sure? What are they saying? Make sure to talk slowly.”

[Concerned friend] “They talk about… showering together! Under green lights! Imagine those nubile teenage bodies all wet and soapy… isn’t that outrageous?”

[Mom] “Mmmmmm…. it sure is…. what else you got?”

[daughter looks nervously over at mom]

[Concerned friend] “They talk about putting condoms all over their body… and… some of this stuff I can’t ... can’t (pant) even repeat!”

[Mom] “Don’t stop now…. You have to tell me!”

Of COURSE the daughter looked nervous and twitchy during the phone conversation. She knew mom would hang up and walk over and start grilling her about teenage showering sessions while she kept crossing and un-crossing her legs. Good thing they cut the mic when mom took the homework away from the daughter so that mom could talk about what’s been on her mind all afternoon.

In light of the fact that there doesn’t appear to be a national abstinence curricula, and most of these educators appear to be going into classrooms based on materials they “created themselves,” I would say that these people need to be watched. carefully. around teenagers.

Your Grunting, Antisocial Child Will Shower With Strangers

You can close the competition for Best Blogpost Title of the Year. We have the winner.

Needless to say, I didn’t actually learn much about STDs, how they are spread, or how to treat or prevent them.

I see not much has changed in that area since I was subjected to the Texas version of Sex Ed before the sex-is-evil crowd took over. At least back then we weren’t lectured about the evils of sex, we actually learned something about human anatomy and how the reproductive system actually works, and I even recall a too-brief discussion about pregnancy prevention that didn’t involve 100% abstinance, though there was even less talk about STD prevention. Needless to say, our high school had its share of STDs and unwanted pregnancies.

For some reason, the one sex ed exercise I remember well was a pointless exercise where the teacher would read some statement like “I will remain a virgin until marriage” and have the students who agreed stand on one side of the room and everyone else on the other side. Although a few students would be asked why they chose their particular position, there were no lectures about any perceived “correct” choice, even when 90% of the students openly stated their opposition to the virgin-until-marriage proposition. I can only imagine what would happen today.

“The condom breaks. What now?”

Man, I don’t remember Choose Your Own Adventure books ever being HALF that interesting when I was a kid!

“Um, withdraw, put on a new one, continue as before? “

See that’s what comes of teaching kids rational behavior! They understand the importance of protection and are willing to put off immediate gratification for as much as 30 SECONDS! With NO CONSEQUENCES for their actions !!!!111!!!eleventyone!!!

Um, withdraw, put on a new one, continue as before?

Correct! You keep control of the board.

The condom breaks.  What now?

GO NORTH

It is completely dark.  If you continue, you are likely to be eaten by a grue.

GROPE BLINDLY

You felt up a grue in the darkness, and it is now your best friend forever.  The End.

Going with the D&D;theme, I bring you the new role playing game: “Abstinence and Purity” 

This Godly and moral role playing game provides hours of wholesome entertainment to all teenagers.  The players take on the roles of teens much like themselves in a dangerous alternate reality of worldly temptation from the vipers that inhabit popular culture and the Sodom of modern day, Hollywood. 

While girding their loins, putting on the armor of God and the like teens playing this game are still faced with temptations.  An example would be the following:  Michael and Rebecca are playing the game with the game master Lord Rodney (Rod) of Correction.  Rod lays out a Red Light encounter for Mike and Becki where Mike and Becki have been at a youth group at Becki’s church and come home to Mike’s home to find his parents have left for Wednesday night services leaving them home with no Godly, adult supervision. 

Rod:  “Roll versus hormones the both of you. Remember, Mike you are at -4 because you are a strapping young man.  Becki, you are at +4 for being a girl.” 

A twenty-sided dice is thrown by the players and Mike rolls a 12, Becki a 14.  Mike fails, Becki saves.

Rod: “Oh Mike you failed your saving throw.  You notice Becki looks awfully curvaceous in that Lands End denim skirt and (Rod secretly rolls another saving throw for Mike, he fails) I am afraid you have a noticeable bulge in your Dockers.

Becki: “Oh Mike whatever will we do?”
Mike: “Don’t worry Becki I am wearing my +5 athletic supporter versus lust!”
Becki: “Oh you are such a stud Mike.”

Rod:  (frowning at the use of the word stud) “Uh oh, Becki you don’t have any bonuses on your armor.  You will have to make a saving throw versus rods, wood and staves. 

Becki: (rolling her 20 sided) “OH a 1”!

Rod: (Shaking his head) “Awful, that is too bad.  Becki, that is an epic failure.  You throw yourself on poor Mike and begin to kiss him and grope at his +5 athletic supporter. 

Mike: (looking at his character sheet and seeing nothing to help him) “I grab a condom from my Bag of Godly Hoarding and prepare for the worst.”

Rod:  “Mike you know there are no condoms in the world of Abstinence and Purity. Make another saving throw versus Serpents and Temptation.” 

Mike:  (rolling a 3 slaps his hands on his head).  OH NO, Becki I failed too. 

Rod: I am afraid that Satan has overcome you both.  You were both worthless and weak.  You are transported to a trailer park.  You are married and expecting a child in 6 months.

...up to 90 percent of the students commit to staying abstinent until marriage…

Key word being “commit”. How many break that commitment? But it’s a success story until proved otherwise.

Word, Opop, I had the same reaction. I think I took 5 pregnancy tests during a one-year marriage even though I was on BC the whole time, and never missed a single day. I just KNEW all that sex was going to make a baby, BC or not.

What’s wrong with showing people where and what a clitoris is?

The misogynists among us would be forced to marvel at the fact that the only human organ meant purely for the experience of sexual pleasure is found on a woman and not on a man.

If you use the right type of lubrication and put the condom on right, the risk of breakage decreases (trim the fingernails, folks!). And even if it does break, most of the time—not all, but most—it’s simply an issue of withdraw, replace, continue.

And, if you’re hetero and there’s a possibility of semen breaking free and no backup contraception in force, you take the morning after pill.

seriously, folks, it’s not that hard.

Another child of an OB/GYN here.  I know we must have had some kind of sex ed in school, but I don’t remember it because I already knew all about it.  I had this book on the shelf with my Sesame Street books.  Yes, my parents got a lot of calls. 

(And OMG, how amazing is it that it’s still in print?!  It was originally published in 1974 and apparently reprinted in 1991.  Description: Briefly explains the facts of human reproduction, the physical differences between boys and girls, and the fact that these differences have no effect on a person’s choice of career or other interests.)

The kids are even taught “graphic details” about how to bring your partner to orgasm, like where the clitoris is and to not start talking about your mother.

‘S good advice, that.  You’d be amazed how many women, fervent atheists though they are are just fine with you moaning “oh, God, oh, God”, yet turned off immediately you whimper “mommy” mid-deed.  I really don’t understand it.

Oh, and what’s a clitoris?

(the “!!!!111!!!eleventyone!!!” wasn’t enough indication of sarcastic commentary? I know the internets don’t do sarcasm well, but I thought that wouldn’t escape detection!)

J Swift: I have just wiped a full cup of coffee off my monitor. My sides hurt and I am gurgling. I will henceforth send your post to everyone I know.

Also note that “up to 90 percent of the students commit to staying abstinent until marriage” =/= 90 percent of students actualy staying abstinent until marriage.  I’d like to see those figures.

First, note that 90% as an upper bound really sucks. These people are giving abstinence-only their best shot, and they’re still estimating that 1 in 10 members of their audience won’t even pretend to be convinced for long enough to make the presenter feel good.

Then, of course, think of all the kids who swear they’re going to drive safely after seeing one of those blood-and-guts films during driver ed, or who promise the DARE presenter they’re not going to light up a joint, or even all the kids who commit to using a condom every single time they have sex after a good solid talk about STDs.

“The condom breaks. What now?”

I go to my doctor and get the morning after pill, plus a long term prescriptions, plus ask about tests for STDs.

They were so busy teaching us to roll dice in order to determine what horrible STD we’d get and informing us that 1 in 4 of our classmates had Chlamydia
And, ZOMG, I bet nearly that number had sinus infections in the winter!  Which are equally dangerous when seen to promptly by a doctor.  In other words, there is no reason that chlamydia should be such a scary freakin’ thing.  You take some antibiotics. It goes away.  Unless you’ve been so shamed by psycho anti-sex crusaders that you’re too embarrassed to go to the doctor. That’s the only point at which it becomes a problem.

Seriously, I think I would rather the schools just not teach sex ed at all than teach the kids lies. If they’re truly opposed to rational, truthful education, they should just cut it from the curriculum. It would do less harm.

Betsy,

Sure, but that would defeat the purpose of these programs. You cannot have propaganda and indoctrination without, you know, a captive audience.

Step 1.  “Young person, sex is dirty, dirty, dirty.  Never do it before marriage because then you’re like used toilet paper or something.  Not good!  Plus, condoms ALWAYS break, birth control kills babies, you’ll get diseases, and you will go to hell for your uncontrollable lust!”

Step 2.  “Young married couple, you are now allowed to engage in all the hot heterosexual sex you wish.  Forget everything we said about used toilet paper and diseases.  Go forth and multiply!”

Step 3.  “What do you mean, my spouse?  You say you don’t like sex? It makes you feel dirty and you don’t want any more babies?  Well, you’re forcing me to have an affair/divorce you so I can satisfy my healthy urges.”

Therefore, abstinence-only sex ed equals adultery and/or divorce. 

Uh, aren’t those contrary to “family values” or am I missing something here?

Yeah, we had one of those abstinence dudes come to my school during my senior year—it was a Catholic school, so he could be as religious as he wanted.  Which he was.  He compared a man staying abstinent until marriage to “suffering with Jesus on the cross.”  Even my religion teacher thought that was nuts.  He also had a bunch of sad stories up his sleeve about women who had premarital sex and ended up being used and hurt by all of their partners until they pledged their secondary virginity.  As if unmarried people don’t have just as little or as much chance of hurting each other as married people do—only when married, ‘breakups’ become divorces, and are much more difficult.  All the stories of secondary virginity tried to put a positive, quasi-feminist spin on the thing—gaining power through purity!  (Ugh.)  Except it wasn’t your power—it was all for your future husband.

Well, I was already sexually active at the time.  And I had no intention of stopping.  And so while everyone else was signing their names to purity cards and wearing new bracelets (of the Livestrong variety), I was trying to stay as incognito as possible.  Already having a bad reputation did not come in handy at that moment. 

But I know at least two people broke their pledges by the end of that year, still unmarried.

Then they hand me a die, have me roll it. As soon as it stops rolling, Scary Old Lady says, “The condom breaks. What now?”

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.00.

I’ve been using condoms for about two decades now and have never had one break.  My ex-wife (we were married about 14 of those years) didn’t respond well to hormonal BC, so condoms were it.  I used different brands and different models (even the one I and soon we jokingly referred to as The Selfish Condoms—she bought them—called “For Her Pleasure”,) but the only one that ever broke was the one we once turned into a water balloon using the bathtub faucet.  I believe “horse sausage” could describe the result.  And it broke from the base, not the end.

Now I want to ask those abstinence people if I’m I just being too gentle?  Should I “rough it up” a bit?  Have I been doing it wrong for all this time?  I guess I should throw away those lubricants, since those are for those who cheat Satan’s lure and are too selfish to enjoy the Good Lord’s chafing.

“ You’d be amazed how many women, fervent atheists though they are are just fine with you moaning “oh, God, oh, God”,”

I dunno - start moaning ‘no God, no God,” and suddenly there’s a big to-do . . .

Actually, in college I had someone get genuinely annoyed at my unexpectedly theistic moaning.  And no, exhoit, it wasn’t even in Oberlin . . .

(There are no atheists in . . . er, never mind . . . .)

“Then they hand me a die, have me roll it. As soon as it stops rolling, Scary Old Lady says, “The condom breaks. What now?”</i>”

You make a sign against the old woman casting the Evil Die . . .

Oh, and by “didn’t respond well to hormonal BC” I meant that she didn’t like the side effects, not that the hormonal BC didn’t work.  My much-more-limited experience with hormonal BC (because I’m a man and most of my sexually-active life was without it) suggests that that stuff works like a charm, too.  So go forth and don’t multiply, folks.  Those things actually work.

I also had three children, but they were planned.  So it’s not because I was sterile, though I did take that step about three years ago—and oh yeah, that works too.  But you have to confirm it worked with tests.  Awful tests no Christian man would ever wish to endure.  Ejaculate into something other than my wife’s nourishing womb?  Are you nuts?!

“Hallmark is riding the anal sex train[*] right into the…”

I for one support proposals to put in passenger rail service alongside the Hershey Highway.**  However, one of the issues is sharing the line with freight rail, as not having dedicated track can occasionally cause problems . . .

* aka the poop chute caboose . . .

** somewhere in Pennsylvania, I think . . .

Anyway, this puts People Get Ready in an entirely new light . . .

Now I want to ask those abstinence people if I’m I just being too gentle?  Should I “rough it up” a bit?  Have I been doing it wrong for all this time?

I’ve heard of condoms breaking.  It’s been known to happen.  Don’t think that it’s particularly comon, but it can happen.  Most often due to incorrect usage, lack of lubrication, using old or inferior condoms,  and the like. 

But, yeah, I’ve used condoms for virtually my entire sex life, and I’ve never had it happen. 

I would know exactly what to do if it did, though.    It’s really no different from the idea that you should know how to fix a flat just in case you’re driving alone in an isolated area without your cell phone and it happens.  It’s never happened to me, but it’s still a good thing to be able to do.

I’m firmly of the opinion that if parents are too scared to talk to their children about such important matters, they should never have them in the first place.  Stupid people shouldn’t breed.

“Joss Whedon’s Taylor, this fall on Fox.”

And the domain savetaylor.com is still available, too.

It might be the abstinence-based sex ed talking, Jeff, but I’d also probably be concerned about the viability of said condom as birth control and be sure to take the morning after pill just in case.

Not if it happened while the guy was putting it on, though - that’s a true no brainer.  But if it happened during hetero sex, there would be a certain level of concern.  But said level of concern would not move past “better take Plan B”.  Which is probably why the prospect of the readily available morning after pill r. scares fundies so much.

I’m sure my girlfriends up to age 20 would have appreciated it if I had learned either:

a.  Where the clitoris is (and what it is for)
b.  It is OK, actually preferable,  to talk about sex with your partner.  You will not learn what they like by magic.

I didn’t even read the post, but that is the best title I have seen for anything ever.

I know, but you’re not the only person who ever used a condom in their life.        ....

When I was taught sex ed (boys’ school, UK) something they stressed on us was that the morning after pill was a super-emergency last resort option, not an excuse to not carry condoms. The message was “if you like someone enough to sleep with her, you don’t want to put her through that.”

Put her through that?  I agree that the morning after pill isn’t an “I didn’t feel like using a condom pill”, but it’s really not all that traumatic.  The worst part in the USA is having to actually go to a pharmacy and ask a pharmacist for it, which amounts to admitting you just got finished having unprotected sex.  Once you’re over that hurdle, and the part where it costs $40, there’s not really much left to “go through”.

Again it eats my posts!

It was 8 years ago, I don’t know if the composition of the MA pill has changed. It’s not something I’ve looked into because I’m pretty sure I’ll never need to take it. But they told us that it would make our hypothetical sex partner feel ill for a few days.

But they told us that it would make our hypothetical sex partner feel ill for a few days.

Definitely not, at least as of 5 years ago when the move to bring it over the counter in the US began.  It causes about the same side effects as your average birth control pill, the worst of the non-freakish side effects being a few hours of mild nausea which can be averted by taking it on a full stomach.  I react really badly to hormonal birth control, but had no complaints the time I had to use the morning after pill. 

Of course, again, it’s not a “condoms suck” pill—you’re not supposed to use it as routine birth control, even if you only have sex every once in a while.  And of course, here in the US, it’s as expensive as an entire month’s worth of birth control pills would be. 

But no, there aren’t necessarily any physical complaints that accompany the morning after pill.

And of course, here in the US, it’s as expensive as an entire month’s worth of birth control pills would be.

Plus the 72 hour window in which you have to take it can make things difficult, particularly if you run into a fundie pharmacist or similar.

Maybe they were trying to scare us into using condoms and taking responsibility and stuff. Particularly when you’re young and foolish, a barrier method is a good idea because it’ll save you from cooties as well as pregnancy. And telling a group of boys that contraception is their problem is a good message.

It’s kind of lame that they lied to us about it, though. Or maybe I just remembered it wrong. But the key message - don’t rely on the Morning After Pill - was just.

Definitely not, at least as of 5 years ago when the move to bring it over the counter in the US began.  It causes about the same side effects as your average birth control pill, the worst of the non-freakish side effects being a few hours of mild nausea which can be averted by taking it on a full stomach.

Yep, that’s exactly what I was told about 8 yrs ago when you still had to have a prescription. I was told how the pills worked, given the side effects, and reassured that I was very early in my cycle. That coupled with taking the EC pill, the chances of becoming pregnant were virtually nil – whew. The nice Nurse Practitioner was very keen to answer any questions about my menstrual cycle and EC pills; she even encouraged my husband (b/f at the time) to ask questions. I got my EC pills for about $20 on the spot. Thank you Planned Parenthood!

I did get a little nauseated, but I don’t know if that was due to the pills or the fact that we ate a big, honkin’ load of steamed crawfish that night (a local restaurant has all-you-can-eat crawfish / beer buckets on Wednesday nights and not getting pregnant seemed a good reason to eat a bucket of crawfish and down some beers). No other side effects.

I agree that the morning after pill isn’t an “I didn’t feel like using a condom pill”, but it’s really not all that traumatic.

I was also told in middle school that EC could make you good and sick for a few days; when my sister, 8 years my junior, sought it out more recently, she was told that this USED to be true but thanks to improvements in the medication it’s no longer the case.  Kind of like the refinements to BC pills that have grossly reduced the side effects compared to the pills of yesteryear.