What images enter your mind? Now think about pregnancy. What mental picture does that word create? In your mind, you know that having sex can lead to pregnancy. Sometimes you do not connect the fact that it "you" are the one who is having sex there is a chance the "you" could get pregnant, or if you"re a male cause pregnancy.
The pictures do not stop there. A pregnancy has a beginning and an end. The next scenes could include an abortion, a miscarriage, or even a child's birth, and a final view of you as a young parent. You, the American teenager, are not the first to discover sex. The highest form of physical intimacy has been around since the beginning of time. And pregnancy, planned or unplanned, has always been a possible result of having sexual intercourse.
There is nothing wrong, bad, or dirty about sex. It is just as true that pregnancy is not a sin. We all need and want to be close to others. We need human contact, to touch, embrace, and feel secure. We need to love and be loved in return. All of these desires are completely normal. .
The problems begin when you start fooling around without considering that sexual activity must be combined with knowledge, maturity, responsibility, and decisions. The problems become even greater when you do not admit that having sex can cause and unwanted pregnancy. As one teenager said "There is more to having sex than just doing it.".
Dr. Mary Calderone, president of the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), has spent years helping people understand their sexual nature. When talking to teens Dr. Calderone stresses that "sex is natural to being human and part of being born human." She continues with this advice. "There is another part of being human----you mind. You must make choices. Ask yourself what kind of sexual person do I want to be? How will I know that I am ready to accept this responsibility of actual physical, sexual intercourse? Decisions about sex are no different than any other important life decisions.
