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MINNEAPOLIS –Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council (MFC), today questioned the judgment of the State Epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull regarding the sexually transmitted disease (STD) epidemic in Minnesota and his recommendation of safe sex in an interview with the Star Tribune recently.
The state Health Department recently reported that new cases of STDs increased 19% from 2001 to 2002. There 13,304 cases of Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2002 versus 11,158 cases in 2001. “On the one hand he acknowledges that STD cases are at an epidemic level and then suggests using condoms as the remedy”, said Prichard. “Dr. Hull is the leading health official in our state and he doesn’t even mention that abstinence is the only sure fire way to prevent the spread of STDs. He recommends condom use as ‘safe sex’ when in fact it’s not. His remarks are highly irresponsible.” “We’re talking about diseases which cause infertility in woman and worse. This survey doesn’t even track the human papiloma virus which is the primary cause of cervical cancer among women and is spread through nonintercourse, sexual contact. To simply recommend the use of a condom as the antidote is irresponsible,” added Prichard. A 2001 comprehensive report by the National Institutes for Health reported that condoms are not a reliable way to prevent the spread of STDs. Among the report’s findings were: · Condoms may or may not reduce the risk of Chlamydia in men. · The studies reviewed consistently reported that condoms had no impact on the risk of sexual transmission of HPV (human papillomavirus) infection in women, which is responsible for more than 98 percent of cervical cancers. · There is no clear evidence that condoms reduce the risk of any other STD, including gonorrhea and chlamydia in women and HPV infection in men. · Condoms can reduce the risk of HIV by 87% but only if they are used 100% of the time correctly which still leaves individuals with a 1 in 7 chance of contracting the deadly disease. “Dr. Hull must be a product of the 1960s sexual revolution for him not to even mention abstinence. What’s makes his comments particularly disconcerting is he’s the state chief epidemiologist and he fails to recommend abstinence as the only truly effective way of stemming the STD epidemic.” |
The Minnesota Family Council is Minnesota's largest nonprofit, non-partisan pro-family organization.
Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org