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From: mjv@ihu1e.UUCP (Vlach)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Who's Life Anyway?
Message-ID: <481@ihu1e.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Jul-85 15:06:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihu1e.481
Posted: Mon Jul  8 15:06:44 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Jul-85 06:41:09 EDT
References: <556@bgsuvax.UUCP> <283@vaxwaller.UUCP>
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>> As I understand it (and what I was working from) the pill runs about
>> 99.9% success.  Anyone want to look it up/correct me?
>> 				Jean Marie Diaz


> 	A 99.9% reliability for the pill means that if a woman is
> using the pill and is sexually active, she has a .1% chance of getting
> pregnant in a given year, NOT each time she has sex.

I hate to see this 99.9% rate flying around in so many messages.  The pill
is ~95-97% effective when used EXACTLY as directed.  IUD's are slightly
less effective, about 94-97%.  So this means women using the best
contraceptives available still have a small but reasonable chance of
getting pregnant.  Of course, this says nothing about people who forget 
to take their pills (or one of my friends whose jerk husband threw hers 
away once, and whose house burned down once with the pills inside, and got 
pregnant both times immediately afterward.)

Just want you all to realize that pregnancy prevention is not as effective
as one might think.  Also, I would suspect most abortions go to young women
who have never used birth control and don't know where to get it without
their parents finding out.