# If you could entirely divorce sex from reproduction, would you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766 "2014-11-16T14:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/1 "2014-11-16T14:21:34Z")
Professor Carl Djerassi would! [Here’s his plan](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11217750/Sex-will-soon-be-just-for-fun-not-babies-says-father-of-the-Pill.html): > [@](#): > > Prof Carl Djerassi, the Austrian-American chemist and author, said he believes that the Pill will become obsolete because men and women will choose to freeze their eggs and sperm when young before being sterilised. > He also claims it will end abortions, as no children will be unplanned or unwanted. The idea is that women will be able to have children far later in life, by freezing their eggs. But everyone will be sterilized, so no accidental babies. IVF for everyone–which will help screen for issues. I do like the idea of never having to worry about accidental pregnancy. But if I did one day want to have kids, having sex and doing it the natural way seems like it would be preferable. But then maybe I lack vision. Anyone out there for the Brave New World approach? EDIT: Hey, just realized this would be a good topic for a poll…mods, is it possible for me to go back and add one? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/2 "2014-11-16T15:32:26Z")
While it would be nice to be able to have sex without fear, fear of pregnancy is not the only one. Also, frozen eggs and sperm are not as viable as the fresh products. It sounds like a crazy idea to me. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/3 "2014-11-16T15:38:32Z")
No, I wouldn’t. Call it woo, but I truly enjoyed the entire experience of the intentional conception of my daughter, and that includes knowing that it resulted from one of the best sexual experiences of my life during a thunderstorm. The “energy” of that union informs how I think of her, how I interpret things about her (like, she loved thunderstorms as a baby, was terrified by them when her father and I were divorcing, and now enjoys them again now that she feels safe in our redefined family relationships. I find those correlations fascinating.) Plus, sex without a condom when you’ve always used a condom…that’s just hot in a way that cannot be underestimated. If frozen eggs and insemination were as reliable as natural sex when I was in my 20s, I would have frozen some eggs “just in case” I wanted to delay pregnancy or had fertility problems with natural methods, but I would still have tried to get pregnant the old fashioned way before phoned the cryo bank for a withdrawal. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/4 "2014-11-16T16:26:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No, I wouldn’t. Call it woo, but I truly enjoyed the entire experience of the intentional conception of my daughter, and that includes knowing that it resulted from one of the best sexual experiences of my life during a thunderstorm. The “energy” of that union informs how I think of her, how I interpret things about her (like, she loved thunderstorms as a baby, was terrified by them when her father and I were divorcing, and now enjoys them again now that she feels safe in our redefined family relationships. I find those correlations fascinating.) I look forward to the final stage of this process: thunderstorms making her nauseated after hearing this story. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/5 "2014-11-16T20:44:04Z")
Possibly the best suggestion anyone has ever made on this topic was Isaac Asimov’s suggestion that women be allowed to choose when to ovulate. Pregnancy would be voluntary, and menstruation might be avoided or minimized. Sex would be separated from reproduction…up to the point where the woman wanted to try for a pregnancy. No unwanted babies. (Okay, yes, occasionally a woman would lie and trick her partner into impregnating her. Bad.) But, yeah, there are, as **Hari Seldon** notes, other risks and drawbacks and complications to sex. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/6 "2014-11-16T22:15:21Z")
So, you guys have never heard of oral? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/7 "2014-11-17T00:27:53Z")
I wouldn’t want to pay for the care and feeding of eggs until some day when I figured out I was really sure I didn’t want kids. I would very much resent it. And then the cost of the IVF. And what if it doesn’t work? More $$. I resent having to take care of a useless uterus already and deal with the effects of eggs. But in the end I’m guessing it’s cheaper than paying for babysitting for babies I don’t want and will never have. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/8 "2014-11-17T01:57:21Z")
Sounds like a plan made by someone who has never been through IVF. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/9 "2014-11-17T06:09:37Z")
For me, sex is already divorced from reproduction. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/10 "2014-11-17T08:32:05Z")
I might be more IVF-phobic than most, but I can’t be the only one who considers it the least desirable option. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/11 "2014-11-17T11:54:04Z")
Unless there is going to be forced sterilizations, this whole concept is nonsense. Think the entire population is going to sign up for that? I think not. Why would anyone go through IVF when they could do it the fun way? And what about the all natural crowd? Where do they fit in this silly scheme? Or are they getting wiped off the earth first, for not getting with the program? Beyond silly, beyond ridiculous, and on the ragged fringes of stupid beyond measure, even as just a thought experiment. I’m guessing someone wanted some attention so badly they created the most foolish scheme they could think up, to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/12 "2014-11-17T13:53:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Anyone out there for the Brave New World approach? I didn’t see this sentence at first, and I was going to say that this scenario reminded me way too much of _Brave New World_. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/13 "2014-11-17T14:31:33Z")
As so very many episodes of history and even recently in so many movies reveal; even if someone comes up with a perfect idea (which this most certainly is not), getting it implemented is always way harder than imagined AND there’s ALWAYS at LEAST one rouge that not only doesn’t comply, but manages to break down the whole system. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/14 "2014-11-17T17:01:34Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I look forward to the final stage of this process: thunderstorms making her nauseated after hearing this story. LOL (coffee on the monitor and keyboard to clean up now) ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/15 "2014-11-17T18:17:17Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Unless there is going to be forced sterilizations, this whole concept is nonsense. Think the entire population is going to sign up for that? I think not. > > Why would anyone go through IVF when they could do it the fun way? And what about the all natural crowd? Where do they fit in this silly scheme? Or are they getting wiped off the earth first, for not getting with the program? > > Beyond silly, beyond ridiculous, and on the ragged fringes of stupid beyond measure, even as just a thought experiment. I’m guessing someone wanted some attention so badly they created the most foolish scheme they could think up, to do so. Your protestations are overwrought. Things change. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/16 "2014-11-17T21:21:49Z")
I wish my wife and I could go back a couple of decades and do it this way. Wouldn’t have had to mess with contraceptives when we weren’t ready to have children, and when we got to the point where we were - but \*only if \*we timed it right with the academic year - we could have done that. And maybe we would have gotten pregnant enough times so that we got past the whole miscarriage thing. For our first pregnancy, we were in the sucky variation of **WhyNot** ’s experience. Knew when the best time of the month was, had great sex, eager anticipation, no period, positive pregnancy test, great joy and excitement, a feeling like every light in the world had just gone on…and then when we had the miscarriage, it felt like they all had been flipped back off again. The Brave New World way wouldn’t have kept that from happening. But it would have given us more control over being able to get pregnant again. That would have either minimized the importance and memory of that time in the wake of a successful pregnancy, or we’d have decided to adopt even sooner than we did, after a string of failed pregnancies. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/17 "2014-11-17T23:07:17Z")
Heck yes, I would. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/18 "2014-11-18T05:16:53Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > So, you guys have never heard of oral? Oral sex hasn’t been [real sex](http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20100408/most-young-adults-oral-sex-is-not-sex) for awhile now. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/19 "2014-11-18T09:46:22Z")
> [@Silvorange](#): > > Sounds like a plan made by someone who has never been through IVF. Yep. Even IUI (which we’re currently doing now) is a total pain in the arse, requires medication, and has a much lower success rate than just having sex lots even for people who have no fertility issues. I mean, my GF, with no detectable fertility problems, can only get inseminsated once per cycle, with sperm that’s been tested for viability, motility, etc, from a father that has already created at least one family. Her best friend can just shag like a bunny when she’s ovulating, getting way more than one “insemination,” increasing the chances of the right sperm being there at the right time. It’d be one way to drastically reduce the population, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766/20 "2014-11-18T14:20:30Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Possibly the best suggestion anyone has ever made on this topic was Isaac Asimov’s suggestion that women be allowed to choose when to ovulate. Pregnancy would be voluntary, and menstruation might be avoided or minimized. Sex would be separated from reproduction…up to the point where the woman wanted to try for a pregnancy. > > No unwanted babies. (Okay, yes, occasionally a woman would lie and trick her partner into impregnating her. Bad.) > > But, yeah, there are, as **Hari Seldon** notes, other risks and drawbacks and complications to sex. I totally agree with this. Why don’t we have this? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-entirely-divorce-sex-from-reproduction-would-you/704766.md?page=2)