h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I do wish contraceptives besides were more readily available to teenagers here in the states. As .. gosh.. a sexually active young person who considers herself fairly responsible about these things I buy the condoms half the time and my boyfriend does the other half. Its a little embarassing but better than the alternative. My only problem with the whole thing is that I know that even used correctly they aren't 100 percent effective, so I worry sometimes, and I wish I could get on the pill. Unfortunately, like many people here -- I don't know exactly what the situation is in Britain, what with more universal health care -- but here, I have not much money of my own, no available health insurance, and therefore no access to a gynecologist and birth control pills, which really sucks. If the condom breaks there's always the morning-after pill, which is fairly available here although it costs, and you have to get a prescription, which means you have to see a doctor, which costs. I have five or so more months before college -- when some insurence is included as part of the whole package -- during which my condoms had better not break. I'm not sure what I would do if I got pregnant.
What's the situation over there in terms of access to free/inexpensive contraceptives/gynecological stuff?

That does not sound ideal... sympathy! Well, for me, my big scary Pill experience was as follows- I was fed up with using condoms even though we were sharing the cost. So, after discussing with significant other and both agreeing it would be A Good Thing, I told my mother I was going 'for a walk' (technically true, we were walking to the doctors'), gathered together some suitable friends (i.e. one who was already on the pill, she wanted to come) and went. I told the doctor I wanted to go on it, (he knew I was 16 already- records and stuff) he said did my mother know, and got me a prescription. That was it- it's free, I go for a check-up every 6 months to ensure I'm not dead, I go every 3 months to pick up more supplies, and everyone is happy spesh'ly me. (contraceptives are, I believe, free to all. You get free prescriptions for everything until the age of 19 when, if you are in fulltime education as I am, you get a form that says 'Give me free prescriptions' and for another 3 yrs you don't have to pay. And when you do it's £6.10.)
As for morning-after: I have not had to take it (thought I might but the nifty hospital hotline said nope, minute chance etc.) but friend did. So she goes to the dr. again, sits for ages until he asks what she's there for (friendly chap) and when she explains he says, "Oh, you don't have to have an appointment to get those." You can get them from some chemists or the hospital accident/emergency, but the latter get rather sniffy if you turn up more than twice.
and that's all there is. I hope your situation improves.

btw: it was a GP not a specialist or anything. Also I have friends who were prescribed it anyway for their hideous monster periods, for which they were grateful.

Here in the UK, the ethos behind the National Health Service is that it is free at the point of service. The majority of the population don't pay anything for prescription drugs as they are free for young people upto the age of about 21, students, Pensioners, anyone receiveing benefit, pregnant mothers, the list goes on. The £6.10 is a fixed prescription charge and is effectively a tax levied by the NHS. We don't know how lucky we are having such a service.

Contraception in the UK is free, although you may have to go to a Family Planning Clinic for a regular supply of condoms. You can also get other types of contaceptives there as well, which has the benefit of not having to see your own GP if there are privacy issues involved.

I'm sorry to hear that you can't get it so easily where you are simone. But if you use a spermicide with the condoms you can up the protection to 99-99.5% effective against pregnancy. But don't rely on condoms lubricated with it, buy it separately.

Interestingly, despite all the freely available care and support available for sexually active teenegaers in this country, the UK STILL has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.
I have no idea why that is, though the Daily Mail and others would doubtless have a theory.

I think part of it may be a culture of hang ups about sex. We're getting better at talking about it, but not compared to countries on the continent. Maybe there's a feeling that if we talk to our children about it then they'll all go out and do it. Whereas quite obviously if sex is set up as being something 'naughty' then people are going to want to do it.

I remember travelling round Europe and in Denmark the youth hostel had a large jar of condoms on the counter, complete with sex education booklets. The message came across as 'If you want to have sex here are some things that might help.' Instead of 'If you were to have sex (and we don't condone it) you ought to do this' which was the impression I gained from my sex education at school.

I'm not sure that first paragraph is worded quite as I'd like, but it will have to do for now.

Attitudes such as the Daily Mail society-is-crumbling ones are the problem. Also it might be lack of self-respect that makes bored young people get their irresponsible groove on. And ignorance- there's still a surprising amount who believe in the magic properties of Coke. Some of this may be due to basic stupidity, but lack of education doesn't help.

Possible solution- burn the newspapers? it'd certainly be cheerful.

I want to say: "Burn the papers AND there writers. Scuze my ignorance and hatred, but I've never met a blind conservative 'christian' who wouldn't be far better off dead. . . or, at least it would be better for the rest of the world. 'specially me. Hey, any time anyone wants to start burning them b******s at the stake. . . jes give me a call." But I'll refrain from spouting my OWN ignorance. Basically I feel that the conservative christians who are against fornication should just shut the hell up. . .


Did you know, that the jews dont recognize jesus, the protestants dun recognize the pope and the baptists dun recognize each other in the liquor store.

Thats actually why DRIVE IN liquor stores were invented.

Why are baptists against fornication? It might lead to dancing.

As you can tell, I'm a METHODIST. An EXTREMELY LIBERAL Methodist.

jolly good. nice to see something rational added to the debate.

im no fan of what conservative christians stand for either, for sure. nor the daily mail.

what has this argument got 2 do wiv sex?

*is unsure what christian category she fits in so decides to keeps quite*

*is also quite certain God would prefer it if we all realise that sure we're different but thats good so y r we fighting bout it?*


omy

Yeah, that's pretty much what most of us hope God would prefer.
To do with sex: the Mail is a conservative Christian newspaper, and it is not fit to line a litterbox with. Even guinea pigs refuse to chew it. In their opinion they represent Britain as 'a Christian country' therefore one in which single parents (women, of course) and gays are evil, foreigners are suspect and they want to rape our housewives anyway, and diversity of any kind is a tool of 'liberal multiculturalism' (as if that were a bad thing... honestly!) I have no problem with anyone who thinks sex should be saved for marriage, consequently I don't expect them to denounce me for not doing so. Fairy snuff! but there are plenty of loud Bad Christians. Intoleroids... I have met several.
I doubt God would be very keen on them.
also