Letter to the Editor:
Condoms might not be as successful as suspected
Published Dec. 4, 2008
I came across an article on the push for more condoms in the residence halls and would like to present a contrasting opinion on condoms and contraceptives in general. "Safe sex" or "safer sex" is a myth.
Recently, I read the report released in 2000 from the National Institutes of Health on condom effectiveness. There I learned there are 65 million people with sexually transmitted diseases, but even more interesting was their conclusion about the effectiveness of condoms for blocking transmission of STDs. They found HIV infection was significantly reduced and some protection was afforded against gonorrhea, but the panel agreed the data were insufficient to draw meaningful conclusions about the effectiveness of the latex male condom in reducing risk of transmission of genital ulcer diseases. For human papillomovirus, the panel concluded that there was no epidemiologic evidence that condom use reduced the risk of HPV infection, but study results did suggest that condom use might afford some protection in reducing the risk of HPV-associated diseases, including warts in men and cervical neoplasia in women.
The researchers commented that though it was not all conclusive that condoms are ineffective, it also could not be concluded that they are effective. In fact, real-world studies to test condom effectiveness cannot be ethically conducted because they would require putting people at risk of infection.
It is ironic that in a country that values freedom as highly we do, people are not making free choices in regard to the risks that they are taking when using condoms, because the risks are not known and cannot be ethically quantified. People don't know what they are choosing.
Continuing to use the lingo of "safe sex" or "safer sex" is a farce, given the number of people who have STDs and the 15 or so million new infections every year, many of which are incurable and bring infertility and death. More condoms are only a symptom of a larger cultural sexual ethic, which in many ways is an anti-sex mentality. That sounds strange, but sexuality by its very nature is a communication of life and love. Condoms are symbolic of a sexual relationship that communicates disease, disorder and fear, i.e. fear of disease, fear that sex will result in children, fear of commitment. Fear, the antithesis of love and trust. Our current sexuality is sub-human and unsustainable. We don't need more condoms. We need a new and sustainable sexual ethic that bears real fruit instead of fear, disease and death.
Vincent White
Freshman
vewvyc@mizzou.edu
