"Exactly the Wrong Message"
February 12, 2003
by Donna Garner
"National Condom Week, observed February 14-21, 2003, is an annual campaign to encourage sexually active people to use condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV and other STDs." Public health departments across the country are presently asking organizations to submit descriptions of what they plan to do to celebrate this upcoming week.
Let me get this straight. The public is being encouraged to publicize how great condoms are so that sexually active people can continue to practice their sexual activities. This begs the question: Are sexually active people being told all the facts?
First of all, condoms have the highest pregnancy rate of the leading birth control methods. It is no surprise then that most of us have condom-using friends who have produced condom babies. That should tell us something about the effectiveness of condoms.
Another fact that our pop-culture seems to ignore is that condoms offer faulty protection from viral sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as herpes and chlamydia. Adolescents who reported they consistently used condoms did not have a decrease in incidence or repeat infections of chlamydia. Unfortunately, chlamydia may have no noticeable symptoms but often leads to infertility and/or tubal pregnancies among women. In 1998 alone there were 3,000,000 new cases of chlamydia.
Today we have over 20 kinds of STDs; and according to recent statistics, 1 in 3 sexually active people will have an STD by age 24. With Hollywood and the media hyping the "Safe Sex" message which acclaims the superior value of condom-sex, why are 1 in 3 sexually active people developing an STD? It certainly can't be blamed on the fact that our society has been silent on the subject of sex education when thousands of schools aided by the misguided support of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) have taught condom-sex for over 20 years.
The really scary part is that condoms, if used correctly and consistently, are 87% effective against HIV but are not effective in preventing many other STDs. Viral STD's last for a lifetime because there is no known cure for them. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is sweeping across our country -- 5,500,000 new cases per year. Over 50% of sexually active women have been infected with HPV. Most cases of cancer of the cervix are caused by HPV, and this virus can be spread by a single genital wart on any of the genital area -- even that not covered by the condom.
The spread of HPV has become so serious that in the February 6, 2003, New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Thomas Wright of Columbia University and Dr. Mark Schiffman of the National Cancer Institute wrote this startling statement: "The risk of cervical cancer linked with high-risk HPV is even higher than the risk of lung cancer with smoking."
It is hard to believe that public "health" departments would sponsor National Condom Week. What health departments should be doing is sponsoring a National "Save Sex" Week. Save people's lives from the spread of STDs by telling them the real truth about the failure rate of condoms. Save women from the devastating lifetime problems with pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical cancer, tubal pregnancies, infertility, and pelvic pain. Save adolescents from the false notion that they are protected by condoms only to find out that they are pregnant. Save the taxpayers the $29 billion dollars which is the yearly cost to society of adolescents (age 17or younger) who have children. Save the more than 42 million babies who have been aborted since 1973.
What public health departments should be promoting is the statement recently made by the National Institutes of Health which says that condoms do not serve as an effective barrier against many types of STDs nor as a sure method of contraception.
The public is encouraged to contact their local public health departments and ask them to sponsor activities which will further the clear message -- to practice abstinence outside marriage and once married, to live in a mutually faithful monogamous relationship.
Donna Garner
236 Cross Country Drive
Hewitt, TX 76643
(254) 666-2798
wgarner1@hot.rr.com