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transpaoIf you haven't yet Read this atricle on AIDS that was hedlined on MSN today.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/90/100694.htm?z=3734_00000_1000_bh_01
Excerts:
There's no cure for AIDS. There's no vaccine to prevent HIV infection. Unfortunately, many Americans don't know this, and many more may not care.
"There is some HIV fatigue. People have been hearing about the story since the early to middle 80s," Holtgrave says. "We are beginning the third decade of AIDS. And there is some misperception that there is already a cure for HIV. I think that some people may believe there is a vaccine already. They believe the consequences of HIV are not as substantial as they once were."
Condoms, Huebner is quick to point out, certainly are effective in preventing HIV transmission. But they can never be the total solution to safe sex.
"Condoms change sex dramatically," Huebner notes. "If we tell people they have to do something that makes sex less pleasurable forever, that is a hard message to get across. Condoms are not a viable solution over the human lifespan."
Abstinence -- refraining from sex until marriage -- is another highly effective means of preventing HIV. But abstinence, like condom use, is not a lifelong solution. And at least one part of the U.S. population has little to gain by waiting until marriage.
"We live in a society where gay men cannot enjoy the benefits of marriage," Huebner says. "At my sister's wedding last week, 250 people came to support them. And that does not occur for gay men. This kind of social support is a very powerful incentive for heterosexuals to be faithful and to stay together. Without that incentive, it is harder for gay men. They don't get that kind of support."
Needle exchange, effective sex education, and gay marriage make for a pretty controversial prevention agenda.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/90/100694.htm?z=3734_00000_1000_bh_01
Excerts:
There's no cure for AIDS. There's no vaccine to prevent HIV infection. Unfortunately, many Americans don't know this, and many more may not care.
"There is some HIV fatigue. People have been hearing about the story since the early to middle 80s," Holtgrave says. "We are beginning the third decade of AIDS. And there is some misperception that there is already a cure for HIV. I think that some people may believe there is a vaccine already. They believe the consequences of HIV are not as substantial as they once were."
Condoms, Huebner is quick to point out, certainly are effective in preventing HIV transmission. But they can never be the total solution to safe sex.
"Condoms change sex dramatically," Huebner notes. "If we tell people they have to do something that makes sex less pleasurable forever, that is a hard message to get across. Condoms are not a viable solution over the human lifespan."
Abstinence -- refraining from sex until marriage -- is another highly effective means of preventing HIV. But abstinence, like condom use, is not a lifelong solution. And at least one part of the U.S. population has little to gain by waiting until marriage.
"We live in a society where gay men cannot enjoy the benefits of marriage," Huebner says. "At my sister's wedding last week, 250 people came to support them. And that does not occur for gay men. This kind of social support is a very powerful incentive for heterosexuals to be faithful and to stay together. Without that incentive, it is harder for gay men. They don't get that kind of support."
Needle exchange, effective sex education, and gay marriage make for a pretty controversial prevention agenda.
