Anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Number 7 on this Pre-test says, "A properly used condom prevents transmission of which of the following STD's: Chlamydia, Herpes, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), All of the above, None of the above." The Alpha Center said the answer was none of the above.
But that is not the truth.

1. On the CDC web site, last reviewed May 2, 2001, The CDC in a March 11, 1988 paper titled: "Perspectives in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Condoms for Prevention of Sexually Transmitted

Diseases," said, "Laboratory and epidemiological studies have provided information about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing STDs. Laboratory tests have shown latex condoms to be effective mechanical barriers to HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), (HBV), Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Latex condoms blocked passage of HBV and HIV in laboratory studies."

2. In March 2003, The Alan Guttmacher Institute said, in a public policy report by Heather Boonstra, that a June 2000 review panel that included the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the FDA, and the CDC, convened by now former U.S. Representative Tom Coburn (R-OK) a staunch opponent of comprehensive-sex education and supporter of abstinence-only sex education, reviewed the body of evidence on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of eight STDs: HIV, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, Chancroid, Trichomoniasis, Genital Herpes and HPV. The Panel considered 138-peer reviewed articles in all. It determined that "condition specific" studies were sufficiently methodologically strong to warrant a definitive conclusion for HIV and Gonorrhea. It also concluded, said Boonstra, that condoms are "essentially impermeable" to even the smallest of STD viruses. Based on that finding - that "studies.have demonstrated that condoms provide a highly effective barrier to the transmission of particles of similar size to those of the smallest STD virus" - two

important assumptions can be made and, in fact, are made in the workshop report itself. The first assumption is that there is a "strong probability of condom effectiveness against so-called discharge diseases that, as with HIV, are transmitted by genital secretions, such as semen or vaginal fluids. Included here would be Chlamydia and Trichomoniasisin in addition to Gonorrhea. The second assumption is, once again, that there is a "strong probability of condom effectiveness" against infections that are transmitted through "skin-to-skin" contact - provided, however, that the source of the infection is in an area that is covered or protected by the condom. Three "genital ulcer diseases" - Genital Herpes, Syphilis, and Chancroid - as well as HPV fall into this category. All can occur in genital areas that are covered or protected by condoms, but they also can occur in areas that are not. Therefore, correct condom use would be expected to protect against transmission of genital ulcer diseases and HPV in some but not all, instances."

"Mr. Wright's explanation for the answer he claimed was a correct answer, was that a person can contract these STDs by skin-to-skin contact where a condom would not be able to protect them, but chlamydia is not a skin-to-skin contact STD."

3. Citing W. Cates and KM Stone, in the article "Family Planning, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Contraceptive Choice: a literature update: Part I," in March/April 1992 Family Planning Perspectives, Drs. William L. Roper, Herbert B. Peterson, and James W. Curran, all of the CDC, said in the CDC HIV/AIDS Prevention Newsletter May,1993, "Studies of sexually active persons show that correct and consistent use of latex condoms is highly effective in preventing HIV infection and other STDs, including Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Genital Ulcers, and Herpes Simplex Virus infection." This commentary was posted on Safer Sex web site that I accessed on June 28, 2002.

Mr. Wright's explanation for the answer he claimed was a correct answer, was that a person can contract these STDs by skin-to-

skin contact where a condom would not be able to protect them, but Chlamydia is not a skin-to-skin contact STD. "4woman.gov, The National Women's Health Information Center": "Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria."

The Public Health web site of Seattle King County Washington says, "Condoms are less effective for STDS transmitted by skin-to-skin contact {note it did not say it is totally ineffective precisely because if the condom is covering the entire area of infection it will protect from transmission} such as human papillomavirus (HPV, the cause of genital warts and cervical cancer) and genital herpes - than for diseases transmitted through body secretions, such as HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia."

"Clearly, on its face that statement in #7 on {the Alpha Center's}
Sexual Health/Knowledge Pretest Game, is a bald-faced lie."

Mr. Wright's statement dangerously misleads teenagers into believing that condoms provide no protection whatsoever against the most common of STDs, Chlamydia, falsely claiming it is a skin-to-skin contact STD and thus unnecessarily places students who may become sexually active at extreme risk while doing absolutely nothing to further an abstinence message.

Clearly, on its face that statement in #7 on the "Sexual Health/Knowledge Pretest Game" is a bald-faced lie. And for the Alpha Center to compound that lie with another saying that condoms offer absolutely no protection, if used consistently and

correctly, against skin-to-skin contact STDs, is not just wrong and irresponsible but it showcases their religious and philosophical beliefs that run contrary to mainstream well-proven scientific findings. Honest and accurate information cannot and should not be denied students in the Poudre School District.

It is the responsibility of school authorities, including school board members, administrators, principals, and teachers to be sure that facts presented in sex-education presentations to students is correct, scientifically based, and consistent among all classes in all district schools.

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