Condoms have limitations

THE EDITOR: I refer to a letter written by M Crawford in the Newsday of February 18, 2004 in which the writer seeks to establish the effectiveness of condom use as a means to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. If safety and protection are to be honestly evaluated we must consider that fertilisation can only occur on about seven days out of a woman’s 28-day cycle, and that viruses are considerably smaller than the human sperm and can cause infections on any day. In addition the writer admits that imperfect condom use is a reality and results in a much higher failure rate.

While I acknowledge the usefulness of good text books for medical students, I must admit that there is far too much at stake to rely on the authority of one source as any good scientist will concede. There are many other authoritative sources that seriously question the effectiveness of condoms. For example, a July 20, 2001 report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, concluded that scientific evidence does not support condom use as a means to prevent infections of genital herpes, syphilis, chlamydia, trichomonas, chancroid, and HPV (human papilloma virus) (pp 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26). Although there is evidence of protection for men against gonorrhea, there is no evidence that condoms offer protection against this disease for women (p 16). The NIH report indicated that condom use decreases the risk of the transmission of HIV/AIDS by 85 percent (p 14) which is not very good since this is a fatal disease.

We must also understand that HPV causes cervical cancer (see annual report of TT Cancer Society 2003), which kills more American women each year than AIDS (ref Centre for Disease Control (CDC) web page, www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/info-cc.htm). Note also that condoms cannot protect against this disease since it is spread by skin to skin contact in the genital area. The condom’s biggest flaw, however, is not its ineffectiveness as a means to prevent these diseases. Its fatal flaw is that it nourishes the root cause of this pandemic. The primary cause of sexually transmitted infections is sexual promiscuity. Condom use promotes promiscuity. It promotes the lie that a person can steal and not be caught. It teaches our young people that they are controlled totally by instinct and emotions. It contributes to infidelity, broken marriages and homes. Please, for our children’s sake let us support our Government and teach instead chastity, abstinence and self-control. This is the only way to save them from physical, emotional and spiritual death.

TREVOR HENRIQUES
Diego Martin