# Single ladies, if abortion were made illegal, would you think twice before you had sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163 "2009-10-26T11:31:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/21 "2009-10-26T18:17:44Z")
[Here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/asia/26iht-phils.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss) a little window into what might be in store for women in a world where abortion is illegal (NY Times article on abortion in the Philippines). A reduction in abortion? Not so much. I guess some women might stop their male partners while making out and wonder aloud whether they’re worth throwing themselves down a flight of stairs. Can you imagine how much worse that would make bad sex? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/22 "2009-10-26T18:33:10Z")
I dunno… the stairs ought to offer some unusual bumping and grinding motions, at least. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/23 "2009-10-26T19:13:07Z")
Abortion is illegal where I live and it’s never even crossed my mind not to have sex for that reason. I don’t think the laws really have that much effect on sexual behaviour. A lot of countries in places like South America where abortion is almost totally illegal still have pretty high rates of abortion, at least to the extent that it’s possible to measure. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/24 "2009-10-26T21:48:56Z")
When I had sex with guys, I was extremely careful about birth control, abstinence would be the only more cautious alternative. Sex is scary business that can leave diseased and pregnant among other things. Oddly enough, that doesn’t stop people from having sex. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/25 "2009-10-26T23:11:47Z")
PIV ? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/26 "2009-10-26T23:16:07Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > PIV ? Penis-In-Vagina. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/27 "2009-10-27T00:18:46Z")
If the threat of HIV is not enough to scare me into abstinence, illegal abortion isn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/28 "2009-10-27T00:35:43Z")
My behavior wouldn’t change. I am lucky enough to have means to travel to get an abortion if I so chose. And even if abortion were made illegal world-wide, I’d still likely be able to procure one (as women of means have always been able to do). ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/29 "2009-10-27T00:49:31Z")
No, for the same reasons niblet\_head mentions. I also would have no problem other than the practical (as in disposing of evidence) with committing infanticide on any unwanted births. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SmartAlx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlx)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/30 "2009-10-27T00:51:51Z")
So far the results (when i checked it at 26 responses and now when it is at 33 responses) seem to be holding steady at about 30% of women saying that they would change their sexual behavior if abortion was made illegal. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/31 "2009-10-27T02:46:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/asia/26iht-phils.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss) a little window into what might be in store for women in a world where abortion is illegal (NY Times article on abortion in the Philippines). A reduction in abortion? Not so much. I guess some women might stop their male partners while making out and wonder aloud whether they’re worth throwing themselves down a flight of stairs. Can you imagine how much worse that would make bad sex? Holy SHIT, that’s scary. And what’s worse is that they’re also trying to restrict access to birth control as well. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/32 "2009-10-27T03:22:24Z")
I don’t think it’d make much a difference for me. I’m completely pro-choice but I don’t consider abortion an option for me (for personal reasons). Hasn’t stopped me from having sex though. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/33 "2009-10-27T03:32:20Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I don’t think it’d make much a difference for me. I’m completely pro-choice but I don’t consider abortion an option for me (for personal reasons). Hasn’t stopped me from having sex though. My stance, though I’m past child bearing age. I remember the days when abortion was illegal in Canada, and women were getting killed by improvised abortionists. In my first year of teaching, the father of two of my students was arrested because one of his “patients” was rushed to emergency and died. His formation? He was a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/34 "2009-10-27T13:21:44Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > No, for the same reasons niblet\_head mentions. I also would have no problem other than the practical (as in disposing of evidence) with committing infanticide on any unwanted births. I hope you’re talking about performing an illegal abortion, rather than carrying the baby to term and then killing it. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/35 "2009-10-27T13:24:09Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > I would think about fifty times before having PIV sex, and would be extremely unlikely to do it at all. Me and any partner of mine would have a lot of oral and manual adventures. That’s actually way underrated regardless IMHO. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/36 "2009-10-28T15:42:04Z")
Abortion, having been there once, is not something I would want to do again. So I’m very careful about condom usage, with the occasional trip to the pharmacy for Plan B when I’m given reason to believe the condom may not have done its job. If I lived in a country where those two options were not available, my vag would be a gated community with 24-hour security. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/37 "2009-10-28T19:59:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I hope you’re talking about performing an illegal abortion, rather than carrying the baby to term and then killing it. :eek: No, I’ve seen women die from the complications of septic illegal abortions. I would have no qualms about giving birth in secret and simplying not allowing the unwanted infant to begin breathing. I belive the mother’s gift of life to an infant is just that: a gift. If it’s forced on her, I believe she commits no moral crime in taking it back. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/38 "2009-10-28T22:59:32Z")
I’m bisexual and PIV sex isn’t necessarly my favourite thing to do with a man so…given that and my worrywart nature, I would think twice before having PIV sex, even with condoms. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/39 "2009-10-28T23:06:54Z")
What makes the OP think that women aren’t already careful about sex? Also, why does he think that legal abortion makes women less “selective” about who they sleep with? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163/40 "2009-10-28T23:47:15Z")
> [@SmartAlx](#): > > I think the two populations are far too different to intermingle them in this poll. Married ladies I wonder are less likely to stop having sex. That’s why I’m asking this poll. They will at best do what you mentioned and possibly get sterilized. Single people generally don’t get sterilized and even combining contraceptives isn’t 100% effective. I think you’re really wrong on both counts. My opinion on whether or not I ever wanted to have a kid changed not a whit between being married or not; if I wanted to have a child, I would, regardless of marriage status. Same if I didn’t want one (though I guess I might be persuaded by a spouse who really really really wanted a kid.) Conversely, I’ve know single people who did get sterilized. Lots of people decide early on that they never want kids. I think sterilization would be a lot more common if you didn’t have to fight a doctor if you wanted it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-ladies-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-would-you-think-twice-before-you-had-sex/515163.md?page=3)