Contraceptive controversy on campus

By Justin Manger

For some of us, college doesn't lend itself to the common practice of moderation. It is because of this that our university should distribute birth control.

We've all been there: the progressive party serving not only a phenomenal amount of alcohol but a wide variety of it as well, ensuring thorough inebriation. Or maybe spending weekend nights temporarily altering your perception of reality with a few buddies in your room. Needless to say, one way or another, a Santa Claran can get blitzed if he or she wants to.

What naturally follows the consumption of mind-bending substances is one of the big reasons why it seems ludicrous that contraceptives aren't offered at the Wellness Center. When viewed through proverbial "beer goggles," limitations that are normally applied to everyday life seem not to exist, so intoxicated people behave accordingly.

As a result, all sorts of blunders can and do happen, most of which are stupid or funny. However, far more serious mistakes, such as accidental pregnancies and the transmission of any number of STDs, can and do occur.

Sprees of drug-induced joviality are rarely hindered by "wastes of time" such as the time spent finding and buying a condom, which is why it is important that Santa Clara students have contraceptives readily available. They can prevent a potentially life-changing mistake.

Discussion of illicit substance abuse aside, there are a number of people, either in relationships or in various other arrangements, who have sex on campus.

If such people are careful enough to want to have protected sex, so as to prevent an unwanted pregnancy or to stave off the infection of an STD, they should be able to find what they need on campus, rather than being referred to another medical facility.

Deliberately not distributing contraceptives can seriously lower the amount of safe sex that is had at Santa Clara, and in one sense actually discourages the use of contraceptives altogether.

Sexual mistakes have an awesome ability to shorten and often ruin lives, and cannot be taken as lightly as are other stereotypical adolescent problems or mishaps. Granted, most of the people who read this article attend a Jesuit university, meaning that Catholic values are as much a part of Santa Clara as is a zealous dedication to academic excellence. I deeply respect Catholic philosophy regarding the maintenance of sexual purity in its many contexts, and in a perfect world such dogma would be lived by all people.

But this is not a perfect world, and the fact that the majority of the people on this campus are hormone-laden, angst-ridden 18-to-20-somethings whose caliber of thinking is not usually of the utmost patience or reason is further argument for kids going here to have the option of having ready access to birth control if they are smart enough to want it.

Santa Clara's administration must realize that even though partying may not agree with the Jesuit philosophy of living, college students do it.

Being as it is their job to help guide us through four years of life, the administration should do everything in its power to ensure we have as much as possible at our disposal that will help prevent disaster in our own lives.Justin Manger is an undeclared junior in the Leavey Scholars Program of the Leavey Business School. He is a bassist and an active member of the CORE Christian Fellowship. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the groups to which he belongs.

By Colleen Snyder

Opinion Editor

I would be interested to know how many students currently attending Santa Clara are aware of its status as a Catholic, Jesuit university. Since the word "Jesuit" is on practically every brochure, Web site and handbook I have seen in the last four years, I'm thinking it'd be pretty hard to remain oblivious to this little tidbit of information. This is why I am asking people to please stop complaining when the university does things that are in line with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

I have heard a countless number of young women (and even some men) whining about the university's birth control policy. "Even my (public) high school had Free Condom Fridays" and "C'mon, we're in college, we can make our own decisions about sex" are comments I hear way too often.

True, we are old enough to take control of our own sex life. Which is why we can also catch a bus down to the local Planned Parenthood and sign up for birth control there.

The Catholic Church teaches that sex is a sacred thing, so sacred, it is only to be shared with one committed partner in a loving marriage. Sure, we might disagree. Even religious studies teachers may disagree.

But the Catholic Church does not care, and I personally admire any institution that stands by its convictions despite the present moral status of our society. Whether in agreement or not, anyone intelligent enough to be enrolled here at Santa Clara should be able to understand the reasoning behind the university's no contraception policy.

Besides the "sex only in marriage" rule, the Catholic Church has many teachings that would make birth control immoral. One example is the Church's strong anti-abortion stance. Catholics believe that life is a sacred thing, something only God can give and take. Although condoms are not abortifacient, birth control (even the pill) sometimes is.

According to the Federal Drug Administration, besides the obvious goal of preventing ovulation, the birth control pill has many back up methods of preventing a successful pregnancy. As stated on epm.org (a contraception debate site), one of these methods is a change in the endometrium (or uteran wall), making it significantly more difficult for a fertilized egg to attach itself. This is, in effect, the pill's last resort.

The uterus is unprepared to nourish the live egg, and it is flushed out in the woman's next period. Since the Catholic Church also teaches that life begins at conception (or fertilization), this is abortion. Although there is a very small chance of fertilization occurring, the possibility does exist, adding to the lists of reasons our Catholic university is against distributing the pill.

The condom and other barrier methods do not carry this risk. So why can't Santa Clara give out condoms? Ignoring the point made earlier about the Church being against premarital sex, there is yet another reason.

According to the Concerned Catholics website, the Catholic Catechism states, "contraception offends against the openness to procreation required of marriage and also the inner truth of conjugal love."

Basically, the Church teaches that couples engaging in sex should always be open to the idea of conceiving a child. Therefore, any form of birth control, even the Natural Family Planning method falls under scrutiny.

Fortunately, this point is a topic of debate at present in the Church. Some happily married couples enjoy sex but simply do not have the desire and/or the means to have an infinite number of children. This is understandable.

Yet, for now, this is the Church's doctrine. Any open-minded person should be able to understand the reasoning behind a Catholic institution practicing the teachings of the Catholic Church. This is not a question relating to the nature of the Church's doctrine, this relates to the way the university carries the doctrine out.

If Santa Clara was to give out condoms and birth control, it would be advocating, or at least condoning sex outside of marriage, sex without openness to conception and in some cases, even abortion - three things that the Church is adamantly against.

There should be no confusion here - this is a Catholic university that prides itself on upholding the moral and ethical standards of the Church, students can get their condoms somewhere else.Colleen Snyder is a senior psychology major, English minor. She is president of the English Club and volunteers with homeless teens in the United Hands program. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the groups to which she belongs.