Beyond the Spin: Candid talk about condoms

Pope Benedict XVI touched off a firestorm this week when, in the midst of a discussion about AIDS in Africa, he told reporters, "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem."

While many, including me, disagree with Pope Benedict's assertion that condoms make the problem worse, his willingness to even mention the C-word should be applauded.

At a time when we see commercials on mainstream television for everything from bras to sanitary napkins, many of us still cringe at the mention of condoms, as if they are going to go away if we don't talk about them. Our unease about sex education for young people - and our failure to openly and honestly discuss condom use - is killing us.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 580,000 Americans have died of AIDS since it was first identified in the United States in 1981. An additional 1.1 million have been infected and are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The epidemic has disproportionately ravaged African Americans, men who have sex with men, and young people.

Adults under the age of 30 and teenagers together accounted for 34 percent of new HIV infections in 2006. Yet, for years, our government has pursued so-called abstinence-only programs. Sure, we should encourage teens to refrain from sexual intercourse until they are married. But despite our strongest urgings, teens are not resisting the urge to have sex.

A CDC survey of high school students in 2007 found that nearly half admitted having had sexual intercourse. In other research, the CDC estimated that 9.1 million adolescents and young adults were infected with a sexually transmitted disease for the first time in 2000. Among other things, STDs can cause infertility and cervical cancer in women.

Many parents cannot imagine their teenage sons and daughters being sexually active. But we don't have to imagine it any more; we know. And now that we know, we must move swiftly to protect young people by encouraging them to use protection when they have sex.

Of course, the ultimate sexually transmitted disease is HIV. About 46,000 people ages 13 to 24 are living with HIV. And chances are that if they had used a condom, they could have avoided infection.

Condoms are classified as medical devices and, as such, are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has reported: "The surest way to avoid [STDs] is to not have sex altogether (abstinence). Another way is to limit sex to one partner who also limits his or her sex in the same way (monogamy). Condoms are not 100 percent safe, but, if used properly, will reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Protecting yourself against the AIDS virus is of special concern because this disease is fatal and has no cure."

That's why the pope's claim that condoms could worsen Africa's AIDS crisis is so dangerous. Not using condoms will spread the disease on a continent that has already seen more than its share of death and misery. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 67 percent of all people living with HIV, and it suffered 75 percent of the world's AIDS deaths in 2007.

Although Pope Benedict's comment did nothing to illuminate the problem, there are signs that others in the Roman Catholic community understand the important role condom use plays in addressing the AIDS epidemic.

In 1989, the French bishops were among the first in the church to disagree with the Vatican on AIDS. They issued a statement saying: "The whole population and especially the young should be informed of these risks. Prophylactic measures exist." In 1996, the French bishops said condom use "can be understood" among the sexually active. Bishops in Germany and other countries have expressed similar positions.

We don't have to look to Africa to see the toll AIDS is taking. Earlier this week, health officials in Washington, D.C., reported that 3 percent of those examined for HIV tested positive. That's three times the rate considered a "generalized and severe" epidemic. The figures for African Americans (4 percent), Latinos (2 percent), and whites (1.4 percent) also constituted "generalized and severe" epidemics.

Of the most widely infected states, Pennsylvania ranks 10th, with 14.1 AIDS cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. average is 12.5 per 100,000.

If we're going to continue to make progress in the fight against AIDS, we need to be more open about the value of using condoms. However uncomfortable it may make us, we must place saving lives ahead of our discomfort.