Premarital Sex: True Love Can Wait

Premarital sex refers to sexual relationship between two individuals before they are married. Premarital sex is considered an ethical issue and a sin of several religions, for example, Christianity. Since 1960, public attitudes about premarital sex have changed. Over the past fifty years, more people accept premarital sex and even consider it as a good, healthy, and normal behavior. Lawrence Finer, director of domestic research at the Guttmacher Institute, says:” Premarital sex is normal behavior for the vast majority of Americans, and has been for decades,” A survey in 2002 showed that by age 44. 95% of women and men had had premarital sex. Even if there are feelings of love between two people, premarital sex is potentially a social problem. Premarital sex not only may cause unintended pregnancies but also increases the risk of having a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

The most noticeable consequence of premarital sex is unintended pregnancy, which has become a major issue in society because it can lead to abortion. Abortion is the major outcome of more than half of unintended pregnancies that result in about 46 million cases happen each year worldwide. There are many methods of contraception such as contraceptive injection, contraceptive pill, sterilization, condoms, and the patch and ring. Some methods are more successful than others. When those methods of contraception are used perfectly, the highest success rate is still more than ninety-nine percent; hence, there is not any contraceptive method that can achieve one hundred percent success. Since premarital sex can lead to unintended pregnancy and that can lead to abortion; therefore, premarital sex is an indirect reason leads to abortion, which some consider morally unacceptable.

STD is another potential risk of premarital sex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that people do not have complete protection from any STD by using condoms. Condoms are expected to prevent pregnancy and STD transmission. However, condoms can only reduce the risk of STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and still carries a 15% risk of getting HIV infection. A person can proactively avoid the risk of getting STDs by asking his or her partner about sexual history, but the answer may not be the truth. According to a survey from Superdrug, only 67.4% of women and 58.6% of men admitted that they always tell the truth about their sexual history. Moreover, the possibility of catching an STD extends dramatically each time a person chooses another partner. Thus, the absolute way to avoid exposure to STDs is by choosing a partner who does not carry any STD, is by practicing sexual abstinence, and by remaining sexual faithfulness during marriage.

The attitudes toward premarital sex have changed and now more broadly accepted, especially in Western countries, even though it does still raise moral issues in many societies. Premarital sex is the root of many social tragedies. Unintended pregnancy and STDs are just the two most typical issues besides many other potential consequences such as divorce, marital instability, and the morals issues surrounding abortion. A person’s religion or society’s safe sex norms influence the choices one makes about premarital sex.