Nature shows sex not merely for procreation

THIS is in reaction to Karlo A. Tablizo’s letter. (“Evangelista’s ‘ad’ an appalling read,” Inquirer, 3/23/10)

Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. But it is better to back up one’s opinion with facts. Here is empirical evidence on why sex among human beings is mainly for pleasure and not for a “higher purpose which is to procreate.”

1. The female of our species is constantly available for sex even when menstruating or pregnant. In contrast, most—if not all other—animals have sex only when the female is in ovulation or when fertile. Therefore, for most animals, the purpose of sex is mainly to procreate. But among humans, many copulations do not result in fertilization; a lot of sperm and eggs get wasted.

Another observation is that human ovulation is concealed. Thus, the rhythm method is perfect for most animals (since they know exactly when they are ovulating ), but it’s not natural for humans. In fact, the rhythm method has proven disastrous as manifested by the runaway population growth here. Therefore, condoms, IUD, etc. are better suited or more natural for us.

2. The female of our species has a limited number of eggs (several hundreds) while other animals have thousands, even hundreds of thousands. Most of these human eggs get wasted if not fertilized. In contrast, the eggs of other animals almost certainly get fertilized.

3. Menopause is experienced only by humans. If we are meant to be reproductive and to multiply indefinitely, there should be no menopause.

4. Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage. Even when fertilization occurs, there is a 40-60 percent chance (according to most estimates) that the fertilized ovum or fetus will be naturally aborted. Most women do not even notice this, thinking it is just delayed menstruation. Again, if sex was designed for procreation, there should be no natural abortion.

5. And last but not least, there’s the morning sickness. Why do women develop morning sickness when pregnant? In some instances, it is so bad that women have been known to seek abortion.

I hope this will help prod Tablizo to do more research on human sexuality. –Philippine Daily Inquirer

—ROMY AQUINO,

rosaddiaq@gmail.com