Is pregnancy a 'consequence' of sex?

Pregnancy is best understood as a result of sex rather than a “consequence,” since the word consequence often carries a negative or punitive tone. Sex and pregnancy are causally connected: pregnancy occurs as a direct biological effect of sexual intercourse. The fact that pregnancy does not occur every time does not weaken that connection. Many real effects are probabilistic rather than guaranteed. Gambling on roulette can result in losing money even though someone might win, and even though they may try to reduce the odds; the risk remains inherent to the act itself.

In the same way, efforts to prevent pregnancy do not sever the causal link between sex and reproduction. They only show that outcomes can vary. Taking steps to lower the likelihood of pregnancy does not make pregnancy unrelated to sex any more than wearing a seatbelt makes car crashes unrelated to driving. Claims that people can simply decide whether or not pregnancy will occur overlook biological reality. Human reproduction is not fully controllable, as demonstrated both by unintended pregnancies and by infertility, even with modern reproductive technology.

Avoiding pregnancy entirely is not reliably within a person’s control unless reproductive organs are removed. Contraceptives fail with notable frequency, and no method short of sterilization eliminates the reproductive capacity of sex. At the biological level, sex is an act in which the body is oriented toward reproduction, even when pregnancy is not desired. For that reason, pregnancy is properly described as a foreseeable result of sex, not an arbitrary or externally imposed outcome.