Abstinence doesn’t work
It’s not often I find myself defending Adams or Toms but I question letter writer Martin’s grasp on the realities of life when he advocates abstinence as a means of defence against Aids.
Martin suggests Uganda’s approach as an effective strategy;
IT seems that Phillip Adams and Emma Tom see the major failing of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate as being his refusal to condone the use of condoms to stop AIDS in Africa. The reason the Pope never accepted this strategy is simple. Distributing condoms is not the most effective strategy in stopping AIDS, abstinence is. Uganda’s ABC approach ? Abstinence, Be faithful, and use a Condom (in that order) ? still seems to have been the most effective strategy so far. The trouble with Phillip and Emma is that they cannot envisage people accepting abstinence. Martin Fitzgerald Chatswood, NSWIs there some religious indoctrination in Martin’s opinion. I think so. Be faithful and use a condom is fine but are we to accept that young people are going to be able to fight millenia of hard wired progaramming that demands satisfaction? Are we going to try and fight a disease by fighting human nature? That has never worked before, why should it now? ‘Don’t do it’ is never going to work. ‘Be carefull’ just might, but the inclusion of ‘education’ in Uganda’s strategy might just make it effective.
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I’ve only read a limited amount on the topic, but I noticed this the other day in a detailed post over at NZ Pundit:
[Ugandan President] Museveni rejects the Western priority on condom distribution–as if “only a thin piece of rubber stands between us and the death of our continent.” Rather, he says, “we made it our highest priority to convince our people to return to their traditional values of chastity and faithfulness or, failing that, to use condoms.” Ugandans have a colorful term for their goal of fidelity to a single partner: “zero grazing.”
http://www.nzpundit.com/archives/009971.html
If the Ugandans have been as successful as has been suggested, perhaps it’s because they’ve taken a combined approach to the problem.
I agree with the ‘no grazing’ policy’ and the combined policy is fine while condoms are one of the options- I just don’t think abstinence by itself is ever going to work. It flies against human nature and I think the letter writer is coming from a ‘condoms are never OK’ angle because of the birth control aspect. Ie, imposing religious beliefs that ignore health issues.
I read a white paper a while ago that made for depressing reading on Africa. In the West (and elsewhere, too), you combat problems like AIDS, infant mortality, etc., with awareness programs, education, discussion, community ownership, and so on.
In the case study of deworming programs in Kenya, they found that in fact NONE of these things helped. Education was quite useless as people just disregarded the material or disbelieved it as propaganda. In particular, asking people to pay anything – even a price so low as to be nominal even for Kenya’s poor – was a total disaster.
The white paper’s effectual conclusion was that the only workable solution was simply to tell people what to do, rather than give them options or information. See why I was depressed!
You have to wonder about some of the criticisms that letter received. This one for example:
MARTIN Fitzgerald (Letters, 9-10/4) defends John Paul II’s ban on condoms on the basis that abstinence is the most effective strategy against AIDS. This ignores the reality that women often do not have the choice to practice abstinence.
Nicola Mason
Mornington, Vic
Now I can’t see rapists using a condom out of consideration.
According to this article the Popes’ message actually saved millions from AIDS in Africa mostly amongst the Catholic population. You know the ones who actually listen to what the Pope says. The squillions who don’t give a toss about the Pope of course do as they please.
The AIDS Caused by Pope Bullshit is just more Leftie/secular fundamentalist baseless lies.
Read for yourself:
http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,12835371%255E25717,00.html