“They’re going to do it anyway”…

The HMO we belong to sends out a quarterly newsletter with various articles and information regarding health issues and the like. An article in the latest one caught my attention, not for its topic, per se, but for the manner in which the topic was addressed. Focus on Chlamydia was the title and, if you’re aware of the disease, you’ll know that this is a women’s health issue. Chlamydia is an STD that, as the article states, is “epidemic in young people.” It is said that most women with chlamydia are unaware that they have it because there are no symptoms. The article specifically targeted sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 26. Left untreated, the article states, “serious conditions” could arise, including: chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, or ectopic pregnancy. What’s the first line of defense, as proposed by the article? Use condoms. Got that? A women’s STD, with no symptoms, that has the potential to leave the woman infertile, is best avoided by using condoms. Wouldn’t you think that maybe, just maybe, they might do a bit more to warn sexually active teenage girls of the “epidemic” risk they are taking that very well might leave them infertile? Wouldn’t you think it would make a bit more sense to ask these girls if they really think it is worth the risk to engage in premarital sex? Wouldn’t you think that they would tell them that the best way to avoid this epidemic is to exercise abstinence? Guess not.