Source Materials / **News and Magazines** # **"Dear Abby" Explains Virgin Birth** ##### *The Missoulian*, Friday, May 9, 1986. #### **Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Phillips)** 📄 [↓ PDF](https://leland-jensen-info.netlify.app/1986-05-09-dear-abby.pdf) --- *Columnist Pauline Phillips, writing under the pseudonym "Abigail Van Buren" in her daily column "Dear Abby," explains the details of virgin birth which was published in roughly 1,200 newspapers in the United States. The column appearing in "The Missoulian," became incorporated into Dr. Leland Jensen's "Proofs for Jesus" fireside class.* --- **DEAR ABBY:** I am a 19-year-old college student, and even though I've dated quite a bit, I'm rather naive about sex. I am still a virgin and hope to remain one until I marry. Don't get me wrong. I'm no "Goody Two Shoes," but i don't want to risk an unwanted pregnancy. I'm dating a guy right now who has been around. He knows how I feel about sex before marriage, so he's never pressured me to go all the way, but l've come closer with him than I have with any other guy. I'm ashamed to tell you how far we've gone, but I'm still a virgin (I think). A long time ago you explained how a virgin could get pregnant. I'm sorry I didn't save it, but I never dreamed I'd need it. Well, last night I was with this guy and things really got our of hand. Everything happened so fast. Please run that piece again about how a virgin can get pregnant. I'm worried. **B., ST. PAUL**   **DEAR B.:** The piece is from my booklet, "What Every Teenager Ought to Know." Many junior and senior high school teachers wrote to say that they had read it aloud to their students: How to get pregnant. One of the questions I have been asked often by teens is: "How far can I go without getting pregnant?" That is not a dumb question. It's a very intelligent one. A lot of kids get aroused by just lying close to each other while kissing. Then they just naturally proceed to the next step, which is petting. Sometimes they remove some of their clothing because it's "in the way," or they burrow underneath it to explore each other's bodies with their hands. This is known as heavy petting, or "doing everything else but." The technical (and legal) definition of sexual intercourse is "penetration." (The male's sex organ must penetrate the female's.) However, as impossible as it may sound, in the medical literature can be found cases where there has been no penetration — the girl remained a virgin, but after engaging in heavy petting, she found herself pregnant. How can that be? Simple. The boy and girl were lying very close to each other (unclothed), doing "everything but," when a small amount of sperm leaked out … near (not inside, but very close to) the girl's vagina. The sperm got into the moisture around the vagina and found its way up into it, and fertilized the egg.   --- **Sources** - *The Missoulian*, Friday, May 9, 1986, p. 25. Transcribed from copies on file and proofread from online sources. **Note:** This excerpt is frequently cited in discussions of Dr. Leland Jensen and is provided here as supplementary reference material for researchers, teachers, and students. This limited reproduction is presented for educational and scholarly purposes under fair use (17 U.S.C. § 107).   --- **Archive Classification** - **Collection:** Source Materials → News and Magazines **Reference Information** - **Permanent Link:** https://leland-jensen.info/source-materials/news/1986-05-09-dear-abby/ - **Download PDF:** [1986-05-09-dear-abby.pdf](https://leland-jensen-info.netlify.app/1986-05-09-dear-abby.pdf) - **Archive Home:** https://leland-jensen.info - **Last Updated:** 26 July 2026 **Note:** This excerpt from a published work is provided online for educational and reference purposes and is not part of the archive's collection. --- [Site Guide](site%20guide.md)  |   [Sitemap](Clickable%20Sitemap.md)  |   [Downloads](downloads.md)  |  [Contact Us](contact%20us.md) **Dr. Leland Jensen**: Teachings and Commentaries Archive © 2026 Baha'i Council of Dane County, all rights reserved.  [Copyright & Usage Policy](copyright.md) ---