Contraception and Aids

[Quietfire]

Phazzan,
The Priest was right in answering 'no'. Although explaining the 'why's' would have taken much longer and many here have given valid reasons as to the why's of his answer.

Putting aside all conspiracy theories as to condoms, lets look at it logically. First, in the heat of the moment one doesnt often think, "gee, I had better put that condom on", then there are the ramifications of using one in finding that they really dont work.
If health officials were more honest about condoms, I dont think they would still continue to make the darned things.
The incident rate of STD's, pregnancy and HIV contraction are still high even with the use of condoms. Unfortunately, people dont get educated enough about this and find out the hard way...
I aquired some years ago, a medical book that provided (and still provides) more information than WebMD. Simply because it is more honest about sex, the body, and how it works. There is even a section in there on marriage and how sex should be the last thing in regards to marriage, where maturity should be considered and whether both partners are compatable in regards to co-parenting, respect, responsibility, interests and devotion. I dont know of any other medical book that does that. It also explains that condoms are a waste of time in the prevention of spreading any infectious diseases and that abstinence should be more of the norm.

And yes, although HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids, lets be frank about this.
Although most fluid is expelled when persons culminate the sexual act, fluid is still being expelled even before that, Since most lubrication is provided by the female Bartholin's glands, most people forget that it is also provided by the male as well. In a man its the cowper's glands. This negates the use of a condom in regards to prevention since fluid is constantly being expelled and the sexual act itself is not over, causing increased chance of the virus to be secreted through a condom and infecting a non-infected sexual partner.

It is much easier for a woman to contract the HIV virus than a man, due to the sexual organ design.(and I shouldnt have to go into that) A man who contracts the disease is of course more at risk if there are any 'blemishes' on his penis, allowing germs and such to enter his body, or usually during repeated sexual contact with an infected partner it will travel up the male urethra and that is how he conracts it. That doesnt mean though, that he cannot contract it after one encounter with an infected person. All that means is that he CAN contract it, but its a Russian roulette as to when.

The fact that HIV be the worst case scenerio, most people dont even think about all the other STD's out there that will effect a person for a lifetime if contracted. Syphilis, Herpes, Gonorrhea are the other most common. Contracting any STD can acutely affect a person for a lifetime and that is the reason why sex should only be considered in regards to marriage.

As far as one marriage partner having (let's say) AIDS and the other not. The consideration should be for the family. If there are children involved, then sex should take a back seat and the main focus should be raising the children with both partners still active in that role. Sex (in your case of the man contracting it) can be refused by the non infected partner because it would essentially cause the eventual death of both partners. Yes, there are drugs to help extend the life of one with AIDS, but the quality issue is then bought in. The children of this marriage should be the first concern, and sex should be the last.

While its easy to play armchair doctor here, I am also aware of the physcological ramifications of a sexless marriage. This is where maturity should be principle. If the man realizes that he himself, through an outside contact, contracted the virus and decided that yes, he will abstain from any future sexual contact with his spouse so that she will not be infected, thereby allowing more of his energy to be focused on fostering love and respect to his spouse and children, then it is possible that this will work. But the spouse needs to be mature in this situation also. She must be willing to forgo any future sexual contact, focus her energies as well on fostering love and respect for spouse and family.
This isnt easy, for usually one or the other may tend to feel slighted or unjustly put in a situation that they dont wish to be in, but again, this must come down to maturity of both partners separately and as a unit. More often than not, we only consider our own feelings and not the feelings of others when a life altering decision such as this needs to be made.
There are other things in marriage that are just as important as sex, and unfortunately in our society, they often take a backseat. Sex has become the most important issue that it has become the biggest factor in considering marriage(or not). This shouldnt be the case, but it is. I am not saying that sex shouldnt be considered at all when contemplating marriage, all I'm saying is that it shouldnt be the ONLY issue.

I hope this helps. Although, I think that I may have made it worse.

Pax.

[KnightoftheImmaculate1]

You are quite far from making things worse. You have said what our Hedonistic society needs to hear. May God keep blessin everyone through your words. Love the Immaculata to the death!

Pax

[Quietfire]

Just speakin' from experience.
If I knew then......



Pax.