Condom Effectiveness

The Centers for Disease Control replaced a comprehensive fact sheet on condoms with one that emphasizes condom failure rates and the effectiveness of abstinence.

Social conservatives have long opposed government efforts to support birth control. In recent years, some have claimed that condoms are not very effective in protecting against sexually transmitted diseases and have pressed federal agencies to adopt this viewpoint.[1] Under the Bush Administration, scientific evidence on the effectiveness of condoms has been suppressed or distorted to reflect this conclusion.

Web Sites
In October 2002, CDC replaced a comprehensive online fact sheet about condoms with one lacking crucial information on condom use and efficacy. The original information, titled Condoms and Their Use in Preventing HIV Infection and Other STDs, included sections on the proper use of condoms, the effectiveness of different types of condoms, and studies showing that condom education does not promote sexual activity. [2] It noted that “a World Health Organization (WHO) review . . . found no evidence that sex education leads to earlier or increased sexual activity in young people.”[3]

A revised fact sheet was subsequently posted entitled Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The new fact sheet lacks instruction on condom use and specific information on the effectiveness of different types of condoms. It begins by emphasizing condom failure rates and the effectiveness of abstinence. It also drops the discussion of the evidence that sex education does not lead to increased sexual activity.[4]

Like the CDC, the State Department’s Agency for International Development (USAID) has censored its web site to remove information on the effectiveness of condoms. As recently as February 2003, USAID’s web site included two detailed documents on condom effectiveness. The document The Effectiveness of Condoms in Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections stated: “Latex condoms are highly effective in prevention of HIV/AIDS” and “Public and government support for latex condoms is essential for disease prevention.”[5] The document USAID: HIV/AIDS and Condoms also stated that condoms are “highly effective for preventing HIV infection.” It called condom distribution a “cornerstone of USAID’s HIV prevention strategy.”[6]

USAID then substantially altered its web site. The document The Effectiveness of Condoms in Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections is no longer available. The document USAID: HIV/AIDS and Condoms states only that “condom use can reduce the risk of HIV infection” and “[w]hile no barrier method is 100 percent effective, correct and consistent use of latex condoms can reduce the risk of transmission of HIV and some other STIs.”[7]

International Negotiations
The Bush Administration has also promoted unscientific positions on condom use internationally. In December 2002, the U.S. delegation at the Asian and Pacific Population Conference sponsored by the United Nations attempted to delete endorsement of “consistent condom use” as a means of preventing HIV infection. U.S. delegates took this position on the grounds that recommending condom use would promote underage sex. [8] Contrary to these U.S. claims, scientific studies have shown that comprehensive sex education delays the onset of sexual activity.[9] The U.S. opposition to “consistent condom use” was rejected, 32–1.

[1] See, e.g., Family Research Council Advisory Board Member Dr. John Diggs, Testimony before the Health Subcommittee, House Energy and Commerce Committee, 107th Cong. (Apr. 24 2002) (online at http://www.frc.org/get/pd02d3.cfm).

[2] CDC, Condoms and Their Use in Preventing HIV Infection and Other STDs (Sept. 1999) (online at http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/
Documents/20040817143856-95300.pdf).

[3] Id.

[4] CDC, Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (2002) (online at http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/
Documents/20040817143928-82727.pdf).

[5] USAID, The Effectiveness of Condoms in Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections (accessed Jan. 28, 2003 at http://www.usaid.gov/pop_health/aids/TechAreas/
condoms/condom_effect.html) (emphasis added).

[6] USAID, USAID: HIV/AIDS and Condoms (accessed Feb. 10, 2003 at http://www.usaid.gov/pop_health/aids/TechAreas/
condoms/condomfactsheet.html) (emphasis added).

[7] USAID, USAID: HIV/AIDS and Condoms (Apr. 2003) (online at http://www.usaid.gov/pop_health/aids/TechAreas/
condoms/condomfactsheet.html).

[8] U.S. Stance on Abortion and Condom Use Rejected at Conference, San Jose Mercury News (Dec. 17, 2002).

[9] D. Kirby, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy, at 88 (May 2001) (“a number of programs that discussed condoms or other forms of contraception and encouraged their use among sexually active youth also delayed or reduced the frequency of sexual intercourse”).