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The effects of last November’s
election are becoming clearer. For HIV prevention and education
and for sex education in general the signs are not good. The
Bush II administration is making clear that they believe the
only approach to sex education and HIV prevention are abstinence-only
programs.
According to a report in
the Washington Post (07.30.01, Ceci Connolly), the
administration, while aggressively pushing for expansion of
abstinence-only programs, has refused to allow states to expand
family planning services to poor women, re-imposed a ban on
abortion counseling in overseas health clinics, proposed eliminating
mandatory contraceptive coverage for federal employees, and
released a controversial report on the effectiveness of condoms
for stopping HIV and other STDs. In addition, when Surgeon
General David Satcher issued a report calling for sex education
that included discussions on both abstinence and contraception,
the administration quickly distanced itself from it.
Potentially the most damaging
incident to date is the recent report from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) on the effectiveness of condoms for preventing
STDs, including HIV. The study concluded that condoms were
effective in stopping HIV and gonorrhea infections, but that
the effectiveness for other STDs is uncertain. The CDC immediately
backed away from the report, reiterating that condoms are
effective against STDs.
The potential damage from
this report is two-fold. First, many healthcare providers
and HIV service providers fear that this report will be used
by a public already reluctant to use condoms as proof that
there is no good reason to “cover up.” The second major fallout
can be seen in a letter from conservative former U.S. Rep.
Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). Mr. Coburn wrote to the secretary of
Health and Human Services saying, “This report means that
when condom use is discussed it is no longer medically accurate
or legal for the CDC to refer to sex as ‘safe’ or ‘protected’.”
Twenty years into the battle
against HIV/AIDS we have an administration that does not support
sex education teaching anything other than abstinence. There
are no credible studies that abstinence-only education reduces
teen pregnancies or STDs, yet government leaders want a “just
say no” approach to sex. “If you ain’t married don’t do it.”
(Remember, masturbation is not an option, as former Surgeon
General Joycelyn Elders found out under a different Bush administration.)
Let’s be clear about condoms,
HIV and STDs. Condoms do reduce the risk of contracting (or
passing on) HIV. Condoms do reduce other sexually transmitted
diseases. Condoms do reduce teen pregnancies. HIV is still
a serious issue in the U.S., more than 40,000 individuals
become infected annually. A disproportionate number of these
people are under the age of 25. The vast majority of people
are infected through sexual intercourse (either vaginal or
anal). Consistent condom use would prevent the majority of
these cases.
I ask all of you to write
your representatives and the President. Let them know that
outside of their “think tanks” and conservative focus groups,
outside of their cabinet meetings and their offices, beyond
the realm of the conservative lobbyists populating their world,
there are people having sex. And (gasp!) it is not all occurring
in “long-term, committed, monogamous marriages” (or relationships
if you are homosexual, since this same administration will
not allow you to marry). Let your elected officials know that
sex education must be more than abstinence-only. Educate them
to the fact that condoms do prevent the spread of HIV and
other STDs.
Dennis Hartke
Executive Director
Thoughts, comments, reactions? Write me
at tpaned@aol.com
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