By Marilyn Morris, President 

Did you know teenage girls typically pay a far greater price for sex before marriage than teenage boys?  Consider the following: 

• While it might be possible for a guy to successfully walk away from a pregnancy and never look back - this is one situation a girl can never ignore.  Try as she might - a life altering decision will have to be made in a matter of months.  No matter what she chooses, her decision will have a profound impact on the rest of her life. 
• Teenage girls are more susceptible to STDs than guys for two reasons.  

1. A teenage girl's cervix, the opening to her uterus, is covered with a delicate tissue that's extremely susceptible to STDs.  Once a girl reaches her mid-twenties, her cervix will fully mature and have a new, tougher covering that's far more resistant to STDs.  As a result, females 24 and younger are far more susceptible to STDs than teenage boys or adult men or women.
2. STDs thrive in warmth and moisture and often die rather quickly when exposed to air.  The female reproductive system is encased inside the body where it's warm and moist.  The male reproductive system is primarily on the outside of the body and exposed to air.  As a result, guys typically have far fewer complications from STDs than females.  Note:  this doesn't mean guys don't have problems with STDs; they do.  But girls tend to have far more problems than guys. 

• Complications from STDs are typically far more severe in females than males.  When males have complications from STDs, it's often a discharge or pain with urination.  Complications for females can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancies, cancer or the risk of infecting the unborn baby which could lead to problems such as brain damage or even death. 
• Females often struggle with far more emotional pain after a breakup, and there's a scientific reason for this.  Both males and females produce a hormone called Oxytocin that bonds people together.  Merely talking to another person or holding hands, hugging or kissing can produce enough Oxytocin to set the wheels of bonding into motion.  But Oxytocin is never produced more than when two people have sex.  AND...females produce far more Oxytocin than males.  Therefore, females are often left with far more emotional pain after a breakup.

So whether it's an unexpected pregnancy, complications from STDs or painful memories and regret that just won't go away, in most cases, girls overwhelmingly pay a far greater price for sex before marriage than guys.  With that in mind, any guy of any age should realize he's only exposing his lack of knowledge of women and his total self-centeredness when he utters the words:  If you love me, you'll have sex with me.