"And I'm sure you'll give it to me."
Christ, through His Church, gives it to you. Whether you accept or reject His catechesis is up to you.
Read the following data very carefully before you accept such nonsense as that of the Cardinal quoted in this thread:
___________________
Dear Colleague,
The drumbeat for condoms continues as does the evidence mount that they
are not the silver bullet for the HIV/AIDs pandemic. We report today on
evidence presented in Washington DC a few days ago by a researchers from
Harvard and the University of California - San Francisco. It is vital that
this information be distributed all over Africa.
Spread the word.
Yours sincerely,
Austin Ruse
President
__________________________________________________________________________
CULTURE & COSMOS
January 13, 2004 Volume 1, Number 23
New Research Shows Dangers of Condoms in HIV Prevention
Availability of condoms statistically increase promiscuity and
risk of contracting HIV according to medical experts who presented their
findings on the "ABC" approach to the HIV/Pandemic in Washington, DC last
week. The presentations, hosted by the Medical Institute for Sexual
Health, were critical of the insistence by some NGO's and policy makers
that the "C" (condom) approach will stem the tide of the pandemic.
"20 years into the pandemic there is no evidence that more condoms
leads to less AIDS," stated Dr. Edward C. Green of Harvard's' Center for
Population and Development Studies. Citing data on condom availability in
many African counties, Green went on to say that "we are not seeing what
we expected: that higher levels of condom availability result in lower HIV
prevalence." Dr. Norman Hearst of the University of California --- San
Francisco supported this analysis with statistics on Kenya, Botswana, and
other countries, which show an increasingly alarming pattern of increased
condom sale correlation with rising HIV prevalence by year.
Promotion of the "safe-sex" message has reportedly increased
numbers of sexual partners. The spread of HIV is a behavioral problem,
according to Green, who said that "having multiple sexual partners drives
AIDS epidemics. If people did not have multiple sex partners, epidemics
would not develop or, once developed, be sustained." He continued, "over a
lifetime, it is the number of sexual partners [that matter].condom levels
are found to be non-determining of HIV infection levels."
Unfortunately, Hearst stated, we are "raising a generation of
young people in Africa that believe that condoms will prevent HIV." This
is concerning because condoms are not 100% effective, even when used
properly. According to Hearst, "the most recent Met-analysis came up with
80%.but even if it is 90%, over time it's the question of when, not if.you
don't want to give people a false sense of security and A and B are better
in the long term."
In other cases, often reported by proponents of the safe-sex
message, countries such as Thailand saw incidence rates for HIV decrease
after the government mandated 100% condom use in brothels. Unfortunately,
according to Hearst and Stoneburner, proponents rarely look closer at the
data, and in such instances behavior change had much more to do with the
decreased rates of transmission. "This is usually attributed to 100%
condom use, but visits to sex workers declined by 60%.they did so out of
fear and risk avoidance."
It is the behavior change advocated by the "A" and "B" approach
that is additionally supported by data, such as in the famed Uganda case.
According to Dr. Rand Stoneburner (formerly of the WHO and an independent
advisor to USAID), "declines of HIV in Uganda are linked to behavior
change.[and] include primary risk avoidance with a 65% decline in causal
sex." The Ugandan government, which promoted abstinence and faithfulness,
helped bring about a 75% decline in HIV prevalence among 15-19 age group,
60% in the 20-24, and a 54% decline overall by 1998.
Stoneburner and others believe the change was due to different
language used. In Uganda, President Museveni reportedly repeated to
Ugandans "you are going to die if you don't stop this!" whereas in other
countries, there is little talk of death. Stoneburner pointed out "25% of
South Africans don't believe HIV causes AIDS" and in many countries "they
do not talk about death links to AIDS." This information proves the
unfortunate effectiveness of the "safe sex" message that increasingly
places individuals at risk for HIV transmission and STDS worldwide.
Copyright---Culture of Life Foundation.
Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.
Culture of Life Foundation
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