By Terry Vanderheyden
WASHINGTON, November 14, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-family group has called the new US Food and Drug Administration condom guidelines “an appalling deception.”
The FDA’s guidelines fall short of fulfilling the requirements of a law mandated by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 2000, according to Linda Klepacki, RN, MPH, Focus on the Family’s Analyst for Sexual Health. Congress’s requirements mandated that condom labels be medically accurate about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of condoms in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), specifically the human papillomavirus (HPV).
Klepacki criticized that, despite there being no epidemiological evidence that condoms reduce the risk of contracting HPV, the FDA’s guidelines state that “consistent use of condoms may provide some benefit for these STDs, such as reduced risk of herpes infection or reduced risk of developing HPV-related diseases.”
“This is an appalling deception,” Klepacki said. “Under the guise of correcting previous errors, the FDA has allowed the condom purveyors to continue to create false hope about the effectiveness of their product.”
“Even more disturbing is the knowledge that our children are being indoctrinated with this deception in their schools – in the name of comprehensive sex-ed,” Klepacki added. “Our kids are being assured that they should place their faith in a piece of latex – never knowing that they are jeopardizing their own lives if they do so.”
“We must not be lulled into a false sense of security – abstinence ensures the best possible future for our children: a future not marred by disease and unplanned pregnancies.” Klepacki said. “We call on the FDA to revise their guidelines to fully comply with federal law and end this misinformation campaign.”
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla, a physician, added his criticism. “While I am encouraged that the FDA finally has recognized the . . . exaggerated claims of condom protection against sexually transmitted diseases, the agency continues to promote inconclusive assurances that put women unknowingly at risk for cervical cancer, or worse,” he emphasized, according to an AP report.
“The FDA should stop playing political games with the health and lives of Americans and immediately comply with the law by ensuring only medically accurate information that is irrefutable [sic] on condom labels,” he added.
The US Center for Disease Control reported last year that HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted disease in America, with 20,000,000 affected, with new infections occurring at a rate of 5.5 million infections per year. The report also revealed that by age.