The Abstinence Machine Keeps Moving

Abstinence-only advocates have now turned their ire towards condoms.

But, condoms you say? What could possibly be wrong with condoms?! Well, nothing really. They're currently the best protection we have against STIs/STDs... apart from complete abstinence.

Ahhh... it's starting to become clear.

It's true that nothing out there can prevent pregnancy or the spread of STIs all the time, every time. And some infections are spread easier than others, with or without a condom. (Herpes and HPV are two that can be spread by contact with the skin at the base of the penis, which isn't covered by the condom.)

So, a republican senator is trying to get the FDA to revise condom labels to point out all of their short-comings (pun!). C'mon senator, condoms may not be perfect, but they're always better than nothing.

This is the biggest issue I have with the abstinence-only stance. I can appreciate that some people want to save themselves for marriage. That's their right. But to confuse kids who will probably still go ahead and have sex anyway with scare tactics about the things that could actually keep them safe... that's negligence.

So, it's true. Condoms aren't perfect and they can't prevent everything all the time. But they're the best we've got.

Read the story from InteliHealth here.