Abstinence Promotes a Condom Shortage?

by LeAnna Benn

A Reuters article, “US abstinence drive hurts AIDS fight - UN official” on Aug 29 by Andrew Quinn from The Drudge Report contends that funding abstinence until marriage promotion created a condom shortage. The catastrophic proportion of which has driven men to using garbage bags. “Activists in both Uganda and the United States say the country is now in the grip of condom shortage so severe that men are using plastic garbage bags in an effort to protect themselves.”

Really now, are American taxpayers supposed to buy condoms for men around the world?

In any other situation, the government would be criticized for backing the lesser solution, Abstinence being the most cost effective and, Being faithful having shown statistical effectiveness in Uganda and then for those who can’t; Condom use. This huge leap of logic from promoting the most effective means of preventing the spread of HIV to the thought that abstaining creates companies to make less condoms and for stores to stock less condoms is preposterous.

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