Where the Rubber Meets the Road

It seems the folks at Planned Parenthood may want to reexamine their own birth control recommendations before looking down on the president's abstinence program. To wit, the latest findings from Consumer Reports, which, in the past, has told us what appliances work best, which cars are the safest, and which strollers won't turn into death traps when you are crossing the street. Now add to this which condoms are the strongest: If your choice of prophylactic is Durex Extra Sensitive Lubricated Latex, you can rest easy—it gets an "excellent" in both strength and reliability. The same goes for LifeStyles Classic Collection Ultra Sensitive Lubricated. On the other hand, if you just so happen to use the condoms dispensed at the local Planned Parenthood clinic, you may also want to pick up one of those e.p.t. pregnancy test kits.

Indeed, of the 23 latex condoms tested (and two made of polyurethane for skin sensitive to latex), the two lowest-rated were from Planned Parenthood—both the "assorted colors" variety and "honeydew." The latter, according to ConsumerReports.org, received a "poor" in both strength and reliability categories and "broke 18 of 120 times at volumes below our strength threshold of 25 liters" of air.

Consumer Reports provide some useful guidelines for condom use, such as: "Never reuse a condom," "Follow package directions," and "Open the condom packet with care. Never use scissors, a knife, or your teeth." And whatever you do, avoid the honeydew.