SAFE SEX FACTS

Dr.Joe's Data Base

SAFE SEX AND THE FACTS

safe Sex and the Facts

Raymond G. Bohlin, Ph.D.

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At age 16 John had sex with Andrea. Just one time. He enjoyed the
experience but felt guilty and decided the risk of sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs) and pregnancy were just too great. He did not have sex
again until nine years later when he married Cindy, who was a virgin. Three
months after their wedding Cindy began having painful symptoms. Unknowingly
John, who had never had any symptoms of disease, had brought two STDs into
his marriage. But John and Cindy were lucky; they both responded to
treatment and are healthy today. Many others, however, are not so
fortunate. Today STDs are at unprecedented and epidemic proportions. Thirty
years of the sexual revolution is paying an ugly dividend, and those most
at risk are teenagers. This is true partially because teenagers are more
sexually active than ever before, but also because teenage girls are more
susceptible to STDs than males or adult females.

While a few STDs can be transmitted apart from sex acts, all are
transmissible by the exchange of bodily fluids during intimate sexual
contact. I want to discuss the severity of the problem as well as what must
be done if we are to save a majority of the next generation from the shame,
infertility, and sometimes death, that may result from STDs.

If you are not aware of some of the following statistics, then prepare to
fasten your seat belt because what I have to report is not pretty. The
information I am about to share is from data gathered by the Medical
Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Texas.(1) All of these statistics
are readily available from reputable medical and scientific journals.

Today, there are approximately 25 STDs. A few can be fatal. Some are
relatively harmless, but all are humiliating. Many women are living in fear
of what their future may hold as a result of STD infection. It is estimated
that 1 in 5 Americans between the ages of 15 and 55 are currently infected
with one or more viral STDs, and 12 million Americans are newly infected
each year. That's nearly 5% of the entire population of the U.S.! Of these
new infections, 63% involve people less than 25 years old.

This epidemic is a recent phenomenon. Some young people have parents who
may have had multiple sexual part-ners with relative impunity and conclude
that they too are safe from disease. However, most of these diseases were
not around 20 to 30 years ago. Prior to 1960, there were only two prevalent
sexually transmitted diseases: syphilis and gonorrhea. Both were easily
treatable with antibiotics.

In the sixties and seventies this relatively stable situation began to
change. For example, in 1976, chlamydia first appeared in increasing
numbers in the U.S. Chlamydia, particularly dangerous to women, is now the
most common bacterial STD in the country. In 1981, human immuno-deficiency
virus (HIV), the virus which causes AIDS, was identified. By early 1993,
between 1 and 2 million Americans were infected with HIV or AIDS, over 12
million were infected worldwide, and over 160,000 had died in the U.S.
alone. Then herpes was added to the mix. This STD now infects 30 million
people.

In 1985, human papilloma virus (HPV) began a dramatic increase. This virus
can result in venereal warts and will often lead to deadly cancers.

By 1990, penicillin-resistant strains of gonorrhea were present in all
fifty states, and by 1992 syphilis was at a 40-year high. As of 1993,
pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is almost always caused by
gonorrhea or chlamydia, was affecting 1 million new women each year. This
includes 16,000 to 20,000 teenagers. This infection can result in pelvic
pain and infertility and is the leading cause of hospitalization for women
between the ages of 15 and 55, apart from pregnancy.

Pelvic inflammatory disease can result in scarred fallopian tubes which
block passage of a fertilized egg. The fertilized egg, therefore, cannot
pass on to the uterus, and the growing embryo will cause the tube to
rupture. From 1960 to 1990 there was a 400% increase in tubal pregnancies,
most of which were caused by STDs. Making matters even worse is the fact
that 80% of those infected with an STD don't know it and will unwittingly
infect their next sexual partner.

The Medical Facts of STDs

Syphilis is a terrible infection. In its first stage, the infected
individual may be lulled into thinking there is little wrong since the
small sore will disappear in 2 to 8 weeks. The second and third stages are
progressively worse and can eventually lead to brain, heart, and blood
vessel damage if not diagnosed and treated. The saddest part is that
syphilis is 100% curable with penicillin, yet there is now more syphilis
than in the late 1940s, and it is spreading rapidly.

Chlamydia, a disease which only became common in the mid-1980s, infects 20
to 40% of some sexually active groups including teenagers. In men,
chlamydia can cause infertile sperm, a condition reversible with
antibiotics. In women, however, the infection is devastating. An acute
chlamydia infection in women will result in pain, fever, and damage to
female organs. A silent infection can damage a woman's fallopian tubes
without her ever knowing it. A single episode of chlamydia PID can result
in a 25% chance of infertility. With a second infection, the chance of
infertility rises to 50%. This is double the risk of gonorrhea.

Treatment with antibiotics is not always successful. One study reported
that 18% showed a recurrence of infection within 3 weeks. As many as 14% of
teenagers do not respond to treatment, and ultimately require a
hysterectomy. It is an overwhelming burden for an 18- or 19-year- old girl
to have to face the fact that she will never be able to bear a single
child.

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is an extremely common STD. One study
reported that at the University of California, Berkeley, 46% of the
sexually active coeds were infected with HPV. Another study reported that
38% of the sexually active females between the ages of 13 and 21 were
infected.

HPV is the major cause of venereal warts which are extremely difficult to
treat and may require expensive procedures such as laser surgery. HPV can
result in pre-cancer or cancer of the genitalia. By causing cancer of the
cervix, this virus is presently killing more women in this country than
AIDS, or over 4,600 women in 1991. HPV can also result in painful
intercourse for years after infection even though other visible signs of
disease have disappeared.

And of course there is the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS. The first few cases of AIDS were only discovered in 1981;
now, in the U.S. alone, there are between 1 and 2 million infected with
this disease. As far as we know, all of these people will die in the next
ten to fifteen years. As of early 1993, approximately 160,000 had already
died.

In 1991 a non-random study at the University of Texas at Austin showed that
1 in 100 students who had blood drawn for any reason at the university
health center was HIV infected.

While the progress of the disease is slow for many people, all who have it
will be infected for the rest of their lives. There is no cure, and many
research-ers are beginning to despair of ever coming up with a cure or even
a vaccine (as was eventually done with polio). In 1992, 1 in 75 men was
infected with HIV and 1 in 700 women. But the number of women with AIDS is
growing. In the early years of the epidemic less than 2% of the AIDS cases
were women. Now the percentage is 12%.

Teenagers Face Greater Risks from STDs

One of the statistics I have mentioned is that teenagers are particularly
susceptible to STDs. This fact is alarming since more teens are sexually
active today than ever before. An entire generation is at risk, and the
saddest part about it is that most of them are unaware of the dangers they
face. Teenagers must be given the correct information to help them realize
that saving themselves sexually until marriage is the only sure way to stay
healthy.

The medical reasons for teens' high susceptibility to STDs relates
specifically to females. The cervix of a teen-age girl has a lining
(ectropion) which produces mucus that is a great growth medium for viruses
and bacteria. As a girl reaches her 20s or has a baby, this lining is
replaced with a tougher, more resistant lining. Also during the first two
years of menstruation, 50% of the periods occur without ovulation. This
will produce a more liquid mucus which also grows bacteria and viruses very
well. A 15-year-old girl has a 1-in-8 chance of developing pelvic
inflammatory disease simply by having sex, whereas a 24-year-old woman has
only a 1- in-80 chance in the same situation.

Teenagers do not always respond to antibiotic treatment for pelvic
inflammatory disease, and occasionally such teenage girls require a
hysterectomy. Infertility is an increasing problem in our society. It is
estimated that one-fourth to one-third of all female infertility in
marriage is a result of STDs.

Teenagers are also more susceptible to human papilloma virus, HPV. Rates of
HPV infection in teenagers can be as high as 40%, whereas in the adult
population, the rate is less than 15%. Teenagers are also more likely to
develop precancerous growths as a result of HPV infection than adults.
These precancerous growths in teenagers are also more likely to develop
into invasive cancer than in adults.

Apart from the increased risk from STDs in teens, teen-age pregnancy is
also at unprecedented levels. In 1985 there were over 1 million teen-age
pregnancies; 400,000 of these ended in abortion. Abortion is not a healthy
procedure for anyone to undergo, but this is especially true for a
teenager. Not getting pregnant to begin with is far better. Oral
contraceptives are not as effective with teenagers, mainly because teens
are more apt to forget to take the pill. Over a one-year period, as many as
9 to 18% of teenage girls using oral contraceptives become pregnant.

Finally, when teenagers start having sex earlier in life, they are much
more likely to have multiple sexual partners, a behavior that puts them at
greater risk for STD. When teenagers become sexually active before they are
18 years of age, 75% of them will have more than 2 partners and 45% of them
will have 4 or more partners. If sexual activity begins after the 19th
birthday, only 20% will have 2 or more partners and only 1% will have 4 or
more partners. (These statistics were reported by the Centers for Disease
Control after interviewing people in their 20s.)

Is Safe Sex Really the Answer?

I must now take a hard look at the message of safe sex which is being
taught to teens at school and through the media.

Some people believe that if teens can be taught how to use contraception
and condoms effectively, rates of pregnancy and STD infection will be
reduced dramatically. But common sense and statistics tell us otherwise. At
Rutgers University, the rates of infection of students with STD varied
little with the form of contraception used. For example, 35 to 44% of the
sexually active students were infected with one or more STDs whether they
used no contraceptive, oral contraceptive, the diaphragm, or condoms. It is
significant to note that condoms, the hero of the safe sex message,
provided virtually no protection from STDs.

Will condoms prevent HIV infection, the virus that causes AIDS? While it is
better than nothing, the bottom line is that condoms cannot be trusted. A
study from Florida looked at couples in which one partner was HIV positive
and the other was negative. They used condoms as protection during
intercourse. After 18 months, 17% of the previously uninfected partners
were HIV positive. That is a one-in-six chance, the same as in Russian
roulette.

Condoms do not even provide 100% protection for the purpose for which they
were designed: prevention of pregnancy. One study from the School of
Medicine Family Planning Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania reported
that 25% of patients using condoms as birth control conceived over a
one-year period. Other studies indicate that the rate of accidental
pregnancy from condom-protected intercourse is around 15% with married
couples and 36% for unmarried couples.

Condoms are inherently untrustworthy. The FDA allows as many as one in 250
to be defective. Condoms are often stored and shipped at unsafe
temperatures which weakens the integrity of the latex rubber causing breaks
and ruptures. Condoms will break 8% of the time and slip off 7% of the
time. There are just so many pitfalls in condom use that you just can't
expect immature teenagers to use them properly. And even if they do, they
are still at risk.

Studies are beginning to show that school-based sex education that includes
condom use as the central message, does not work. A study in a major
pediatric journal concluded that the available evidence indicates that
there is little or no effect from school-based sex- education on sexual
activity, contraception, or teenage pregnancy.(2) This study evaluated
programs that emphasized condoms. In addition, programs that emphasize
condoms tend to give a false sense of security to sexually active students
and make those students who are not having sex feel abnormal.

The list of damages from unmarried adolescent sexual activity is long
indeed. Apart from the threat to physical health and fertility, there is
damage to family relationships, self-confidence and emotional health,
spiritual health, and future economic opportunities due to unplanned
pregnancy. Condom-based sex- education does not work.

Saving Sex for Marriage is the Common Sense Solution.

The epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases is running rampant in this
country and around the world. Diseases such as chlamydia, human papilloma
virus, herpes, hepatitis B, trichomonas, pelvic inflammatory disease, and
AIDS have joined syphilis and gonorrhea in just the last 30 years. There is
no question that the fruits of the sexual revolution have been devastating.
I have also shown how our teen-agers are at a greater risk for sexually
transmitted diseases than are adults and that sex-education based on condom
use is ineffective and misleading. There is only one message that offers
health, hope, and joy to today's teenagers. We need to teach single people
to save intercourse for marriage.

Sex is a wonderful gift, but if uncontrolled, it has a great capacity for
evil as well as good. Our bodies were not made to have multiple sex
partners. Almost all risk of STD and out-of-wedlock pregnancy can be
avoided by saving intercourse for marriage. And it can be done.

Statistics show clearly that in schools that teach a sex education program
that emphasizes saving intercourse for marriage, the teen pregnancy rate
drops dramatically in as little as one year. In San Marcos, California, a
high school used a federally funded program ("Teen Aid") which emphasizes
saving intercourse until marriage. Before using the program there were 147
pregnancies out of 600 girls. Within two years, the number of pregnancies
plummeted to 20 out of 600 girls.(3) As of 1992, San Marcos was still using
this program and was still satisfied with it. In Jessup Georgia, upon
instituting the "Sex Respect" program, the number of pregnancies out of 340
female students dropped from 17 to 13 to 11 to 3 in successive years.

Delaying intercourse until teens are older is not a naive proposal. Over
50% of the females and 40% of the males between 15 and 19 have not had
intercourse. They are living proof that teens can control their sexual
desires. Of those who had at least one sexual experience, 20% had sex in
the past but were not currently sexually active. Therefore, a minority of
students are sexually active.

Condom-based sex-education programs basically teach teen-agers that they
cannot control their sexual desires, and that they must use condoms to
protect themselves. It is not a big leap from people being unable to
control their sexual desires to being unable to control their hate, greed,
anger, and prejudice. This is not the right message for our teenagers!

Teenagers are willing to discipline themselves for things they want and
desire and are convinced are beneficial. Girls get up early for drill team
practice. Boys train in the off-season with weights to get stronger for
athletic competition. Our teens can be disciplined in their sexual lives if
they have the right information to make logical choices.

Saving sex for marriage is the common sense solution. In fact, it is the
only solution. We don't hesitate to tell our kids not to use drugs or
marijuana, and most do not. We tell our kids it's unhealthy to smoke, and
most do not.

It is normal and healthy not to have sex until marriage. STDs are so common
that it is not an exaggeration to say that most people who regularly have
sex outside of marriage will contract a sexually transmitted disease. Our
sexuality should blossom within the confines of a mutually faithful
monogamous relationship. We need to reeducate our kids not just in what is
healthy, but in what is right.

Notes

1. Medical Institute for Sexual Health, P.O. Box 4919, Austin, TX 78765.

2. I.W. Stout, et al., Pediatrics, 1989, 83:376-79.

3. Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., Safe Sex (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,
1991), p. 86.

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Much information in the above article is substantially identical to and
derived from materials of and seminars presented by the Medical Institute
for Sexual Health (MISH) and its president, Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., and
is used with their permission. MISH is a 501(c)3 organization funded
entirely from private contributions, and is dedicated to accumulating,
providing, and presenting medical truth concerning sexually transmitted
diseases, contraception, and related issues. For further information, you
may contact MISH at P.O. Box 4919, Austin, Texas 78765, or call them at
1-800-892-9484.

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About the Author

Dr. Raymond G. Bohlin is currently director of research at Probe
Ministries. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois (B.S., zoology),
North Texas State University (M.S., population genetics), and the
University of Texas at Dallas (M.S., Ph.D., molecular biology). He is the
co-author of the book The Natural Limits to Biological Change and has
published numerous journal articles.

What is Probe?

Probe Ministries is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to reclaim
the primacy of Christian thought and values in Western culture through
media, education, and literature. In seeking to accomplish this mission,
Probe provides perspective on the integration of the academic disciplines
and historic Christianity.

In addition, Probe acts as a clearing house, communicating the results of
its research to the church and society at large.

Further information about Probe's materials and ministry may be obtained by
writing to:
Probe Ministries
1900 Firman Drive, Suite 100
Richardson, TX 75081
(214) 480-0240
FAX(214) 644-9664
74152.214@compuserve.com

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