birds and bees, anyone?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 23, 2006

Look, I realize that the advocates of birth control hold sway over public opinion, and today even Catholics have lost sight of commonsense arguments that earlier generations took for granted. Still I'd like to know what's going on between the ears of some people who responded to the WSJ/Harris poll mentioned in today's CWN story.

Yes, you read it right:

Remarkably, 25% of the general public said that abstinence is not the best means of preventing pregnancy.

Are these people just being perverse? You can argue back and forth about the effectiveness of condoms, or diaphragms, or IUDs; but you can't argue about the effectiveness of abstinence. Unless...

Then I think back over a few days, to the Rand-Europe report that suggested making in vitro fertility treatment more widely available, as a way to combat the "birth dearth" in Europe. Sure! Of course! But how is it that Europe's population rose steadily over the centuries-- give or take a plague or two-- before all that wonderful technology was devised?

Is it really possible that 1 in every 4 of our neighbors doesn't know how babies are made?