Start having sex early and often and, beyond doubt, you will eventually face pregnancy, abortion, venereal diseases, emotional problems, and a lifelong wrong idea of what sex is. The medical professionals themselves recognize at least some of these truths. Everyone knows about AIDS today, but few know of the epidemic of other sexually transmitted diseases that plague American society. Pelvic exams are now common for incoming college students so that these diseases may be caught and treated early. The fact that condoms fail often enough, even for mature adults, is not seen as a particular problem.
Abortion always waits as a backstop for the sexual revolution.
The only way to make sense of all this is to understand that our high culture has decided to treat young people like animals. Not long ago, I debated Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College who is far from the worst case on these issues. He agreed nominally that it would be a good thing for college students to refrain from sex at a time when the consequences for them could be catastrophic. In other words, because women are physically mature and ready to bear children earlier, we cannot expect them or their boyfriends to do anything but let nature take its course at younger and younger ages. If this fact were used to argue that early marriage and motherhood are dictated by biology, it would ignite a feminist firestorm.