On Arguing Against Condoms

One of the stranger stories we hear in discussing sex-ed is the one that says that "condoms are ineffective." The way the story is told, people who use condoms are at nearly the same risk of pregnancy and infection as people who don't.

Personally, I question the motives of someone who would discourage taking preventative steps. But this anti-safe-sex message is spread pretty widely, you see it all the time on the Family Blah-Blah web sites and in their pamphlets.

As a note of background, one of the complaints that the Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum have always had about the previous citizens advisory committee is that they refused to include information from the Centers for Disease Control about the risks of this or that. As an active participant in this debate, I find myself looking at CDC's information pretty often, and it seems to me that the CDC's advice is almost exactly the opposite of what CRC wants. Like, here's something I came across this morning, from a site about HIV and how to avoid it.

Effectiveness of Condoms

Condoms are classified as medical devices and are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Condom manufacturers in the United States test each latex condom for defects, including holes, before it is packaged. The proper and consistent use of latex or polyurethane (a type of plastic) condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse--vaginal, anal, or oral--can greatly reduce a person's risk of acquiring or transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection.

There are many different types and brands of condoms available--however, only latex or polyurethane condoms provide a highly effective mechanical barrier to HIV. In laboratories, viruses occasionally have been shown to pass through natural membrane ("skin" or lambskin) condoms, which may contain natural pores and are therefore not recommended for disease prevention (they are documented to be effective for contraception). Women may wish to consider using the female condom when a male condom cannot be used.

For condoms to provide maximum protection, they must be used consistently (every time) and correctly. Several studies of correct and consistent condom use clearly show that latex condom breakage rates in this country are less than 2 percent. Even when condoms do break, one study showed that more than half of such breaks occurred prior to ejaculation.

When condoms are used reliably, they have been shown to prevent pregnancy up to 98 percent of the time among couples using them as their only method of contraception. Similarly, numerous studies among sexually active people have demonstrated that a properly used latex condom provides a high degree of protection against a variety of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection.

For more detailed information about condoms, see the CDC publication "Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases."

[From the CDC web site: HIV and Its Transmission]

I would suggest, if you really want more information about the effectiveness of condoms, read Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention, the result of an NIH workshop that examined the peer-reviewed literature and drew conclusions about condom effectiveness for various STDs.

There is a certain argument that people should wait to have sex until they're married. That would work. I mean, really, if would work if we had a society where people married in their teens. Parents could just chaperone their kids' activities until they found someone to marry. (Or we could have "traditional marriage," where the parents would pick someone out and their children would be forced to marry them.) There are lots of traditions in place for regulating the sexual behavior of young people. But people in our society marry, on average, at the age of 27. You don't want to be flipping on the porch light when somebody brings your 25-year-old daughter to the doorstep. And I doubt that she'd really appreciate it, either.

It's easy to see what the point is. What these people who complain about condoms are saying is that you shouldn't have sex until you're married. Then, making babies is not a problem, and you won't worry about catching an STD if both of you are virgins. Of course that's what they want to happen. And as parents, I think all of us would be happy with that.

But it is dishonest to twist the facts to fit what you want. The fact is, condoms provide a barrier for both semen and viruses that is quite effective. A condom can tear or come off, but the chances of that happening are greatly reduced by learning how to use one correctly. --And as the NIH report I linked above notes, even if a condom tears or slips, the chances of pregnancy and infection are vastly reduced. Further, no matter what the fuddy-duddies say, even the Bush administration's Centers for Disease Control strongly recommends use of a condom for anal sex.

It is not only dishonest but criminal to suggest that anyone should not use a condom for either heterosexual or homosexual activities, especially in those cases where the relationship is not monogamous and where there is a chance that the partner has a sexually transmitted infection of any sort. With the diseases that are out there now, arguing that a condom should not be used may amount to murder.