[Brandye]

OK, withdrawal is better than shooting away. But not as good as anything else. I would point out that this is, appropriately, a highly controlled study. To have gotten such good success with condoms would require high control and responsible test subjects. To get this level of success with withdrawal would require an equal amount of motivation and care in getting it out in time.

The Biblical reference is hazy. Specifically, the story of Onan and casting his seed upon the ground with his dead brother's wife is where the religious ban on contraception began. Onan had violated civil law of the day and it became canonical law when someone wrote it up in the Old Testament.

Cowper's fluid does not have sperm exactly. The reproductive system of a male has lots swimming around. When Cowper's is isolated, it is sperm free. During sexual excitation, sperm do leave the prostate early and contaminate the fluid. Hence, we say to teat the fluid as though it did contain sperm.

The male ejaculation, especially in young men, often comes unexpectedly. Sometimes as contact is made and often on the first or second thrust. If people follow the rules precisely, perhaps a reasonable level of success can be expected but clumsy teens in the back seat have all sorts of difficulties that can leave sperm in the vagina or at the entrance.

Most contraceptives are advertised with their theoretical levels of success. When measured in real world use, the success is much lower. Note the article says condoms have a 2% failure rate. That is unreasonable. In real life, the failure rate approaches fifteen percent and that is mainly as a result of sperm swimming around the open end. The pill allows three pregnancies per hundred women, annually, pregnant. There is no way that withdrawal in the real world would approach that level of success.

These studies have been appearing forever and will continue. The better the controls on the studies, the better the results will appear. When pharma companies are testing pills, they actually ring the woman each day at the same time to insure compliance. At the same time, questions are asked about medication and supplements to insure the results are not affected. With training and motivation, withdrawal can be more effective than it is in hurried teen sex.

Until each man and woman is trained and has demonstrated competence in getting out at the right time, use real protection. The same is true of the various systems of timing whether simple basal temperature or the more complex analysis of the mucous plug in the cervical os. Great results are reported in testing but are rarely translated into the real world.