stell
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5342
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posted 10 May 2004 06:09 PM
Anti-Condom Policies Could Spark AIDS Explosion in the Phillipines quote:
The Philippine government’s inadequate HIV-prevention policies put at grave risk large numbers of men, women and children who could contract this incurable disease. Condoms are the only widely available device for preventing sexual transmission of HIV and have proven highly effective when used correctly and consistently.
“The Philippines is courting an AIDS epidemic with its anti-condom approach,” said Jonathan Cohen, a researcher with Human Rights Watch’s HIV/AIDS Program and author of the report. “The casualties will be millions of people who cannot protect themselves from HIV infection.” [...] In 2003, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) successfully blocked legislation that would have authorized the use of national funds for condoms and other contraceptive supplies. That same year, the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded a P$50 million (U.S.$888,000) contract to an organization, Couples for Christ, to provide “natural family planning” seminars that discourage condom use. Nurses in government health clinics in Manila teach that condoms have holes in them, sources said, a myth that has also been articulated by Vatican spokesmen.
This is seriously scary. Apparently, because of the US's "abstinence until marriage" policy, the US is no longer donating condoms to the Phillipines. Women found with condoms are harrassed and prosecuted for prostitution based simply on possession. Many prostitutes believe that if they wash themselves (and the men who are their customers) with water after having sex, that will prevent the spread of disease. Yet the Catholic Church would rather watch more and more of the population die of a preventable disease than advocate safe sex. It's sickening.
From: Toronto | Registered: Mar 2004
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