THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By THOMAS M. CHIN
LENGTH: 50 lines
Your article ``Infectious diseases threaten health progress'' (May 20) summarized the findings of the 1996 United Nations' World Health Report. Two of the listed plagues well-established in America are hepatitis B and AIDS, which are predominantly transmitted by sexual intercourse.
With respect to hepatitis B and AIDS, what's sadly absent among the reasons why these diseases are exploding is a simple fact: Unprecedented sexual promiscuity and marital infidelity have created and are perpetuating these epidemics.
Social and health trends in America bear witness to this reality. Because of the sexual revolution that began more than 30 years ago, the number of Americans infected by sexually transmitted diseases has skyrocketed, mirroring the increase in unmarried-couple households, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, abortions, divorces and single-parent families during that same period.
Hepatitis B, for example, infects 200,000 to 300,000 people each year, and HIV, which did not exist in America 20 years ago, has already infected more than a million Americans since its detection in the early 1980s. The prevailing sexual ethos whose focus is immediate personal gratification at the expense of personal and community responsibility has borne bitter fruit for both individuals and society.
In light of this dilemma, prevention remains the best medicine. Many experts, including the foremost authorities in public health at the Centers for Disease Control, emphasize that abstinence before marriage and monogamy after marriage are the only effective ways to control the spread of these infections.
Aren't condoms effective? The answer is no. On average, even with proper use, condoms break about 4 percent of the time; in addition, the Food and Drug Administration allows four defective condoms to get to market for every 1,000 condoms produced.
Condoms have a high failure rate in preventing pregnancy and venereal disease. One in five couples relying on condoms becomes pregnant in a year.
With respect to sexually transmitted diseases, scientific studies demonstrate that condoms provide only partial protection, which is corroborated by the fact that a number of HIV patients became HIV positive despite using condoms.
If America is to survive the hepatitis B and AIDS pandemics, Americans must rediscover the virtues of self-control, patience and fidelity; reaffirm the benefits of chastity until marriage; and ready couples for marriages that can weather the storms of life. Ultimately, the threat of emerging infections reinforces a timeless principle about life: Personal lifestyle choices have consequences that extend far beyond the individual. MEMO: Thomas Chin, a physician, lives in Suffolk. by CNB