2/19/12

Last night, I was on FOX 11 news discussing a silly new program in CA. It's called Condom Access Project (as in "put a cap on it.") This project (funded by YOUR tax dollars) will send teenagers free condoms thru the mail in a discreetly wrapped package.

As with most govt solutions to problems THEY create, this one is based on 3 false premises.

False Premise #1:
Receiving condoms at home will be less embarrassing and awkward than going to a clinic or school health office.

If the child is sexually active with parental permission, chances are parents will provide them, there's no reason to send them in mail. If the child is sexually active without parental permission, receiving a box of condoms every month will surely let the cat out of the bag.

I asked several teens, "Which would be more awkward, going to the store/clinic to ask for them or getting a package at home your mom will probably see?" They all said, "It's going to come to my HOUSE???"

False Premise #2:
Teens fail to use condoms because they don’t have access to them.

NOT.

Teens fail to use condoms because the reasoning center of their brain is not fully developed until age 25. They aren't able of taking in information, filtering it thru time/nature/experience and predict the consequences of their behavior. Teens don't use condoms because they don't fully understand the risk!

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (taken every other year since the 1990s) has shown the highest condom use is among 9th graders (64-69% on avg). Condom use DECREASES to 52-54% by 12th grade when ACCESS is greatly increased.

False Premise #3:
If teens have condoms they will use them and the rates of STDs will go down.

ASSUMED, but never proven!

1 out of 3 teen couples using condoms to avoid pregnancy GET PREGNANT in the first year.* It's not just because of breakage, it's because of inconsistent use! Even adults fail to use condoms with every single act of sexual contact. Inconsistent use (anything less than 100% consistent and correct) provides the same rate of infection as not using them AT ALL!

Then there's the question of "how much protection" condoms provide. The amount of risk reduction from correct/consistent condoms use varies by disease -- meaning which partner is infected and what type of sex they’re having. For instance, take Gonorrhea — if HE is infected: 85% risk reduction. If SHE is infected: condoms offer only 50% risk reduction.

Or take, HIV. For vaginal sex, 85% risk reduction. Anal sex: no evidence of ANY risk reduction.

But more than that, the Condom Access Project completely ignores the evidence! The CAP program was initiated because of high Chlamydia and Gonorrhea infection rates, but according to the NIH** condom effectiveness studies, condoms only reduced the risk of infection by 50%. (The website hosting this program says “Condoms give good protection against Chlamydia.” Does 50% sound like "Good protection"??)

Teens use condoms like they clean their rooms. Adults who believe giving kids more ACCESS to condoms will automatically result in lower rates of infection and pregnancy have obviously never met a teenager from Earth.

(I say this with no disrespect for teens, by the way. Teens get the fact that the reason stuff doesn't make sense sometimes is because they have no way to process the data adults throw at them. In this regard, teens are a LOT smarter than some adults!)

Sources:
*[See "Contraceptive Failure in the First Two Years of Use: Differences Across Socioeconomic Subgroups," Family Planning Perspectives, 2001, 33(1):19-27]

**National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention, July 20, 2001.