Posted on 12/18/2002 4:36:06 PM PST by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - A government fact sheet that long promoted condoms as "highly effective" in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases now offers a more neutral summary of the pros and cons of condom use.
Congressional Democrats charge that politics are trumping science.
They also point to a fact sheet produced by the National Cancer Institute concerning the link between abortion and breast cancer. Until this summer, it said that women who had abortions face no increased risk of breast cancer; now it says the evidence is not clear.
"We are extremely concerned about these alterations and deletions of important scientific information," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and 13 other Democrats said in a letter Wednesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
"They appear to be part of an Orewellian trend at HHS. Simply put, information that used to be based on science is being systematically removed from the public when it conflicts with the administration's political agenda."
HHS officials say the revisions are consistent with the science. They deny any political interference.
On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, the condom fact sheet had said that refraining from sex was the best way to prevent transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. The old version went on to say: "But for those who have sexual intercourse, latex condoms are highly effective when used consistently and correctly."
The recently posted version focuses on HIV along with other sexually transmitted diseases. In its introduction, the fact sheet now says that condoms "can reduce the risk of STD transmission. However, no protective method is 100 percent effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD."
The fact sheet goes on to analyze the effectiveness of condoms versus a variety of sexually transmitted diseases.
It says that condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV, an incurable disease that is often fatal and requires extensive treatment. There is no evidence that condoms prevent the transmission of the human papillomavirus, which causes no disease in 99 percent of cases, but will cause cervical cancer in 1 percent of its female victims.
Given the mixed evidence, the CDC opted for a more neutral introduction to the fact sheet, said Dr. David Fleming, the CDC's deputy director for science.
"This fact sheet is designed to be as scientifically accurate as possible," he said. "We specifically tried not to nuance it in the direction either of encouraging or discouraging use of condoms. The interpretation really is in the eyes of the beholder."
He said that the fact sheet was written with the help of people at HHS headquarters, but said he stands by it from a scientific point of view.
In the case of breast cancer and abortion, the National Cancer Institute removed a fact sheet from its Web site that said "the current body of scientific evidence suggests that women who have had either induced or spontaneous abortions have the same risk as other women for developing breast cancer."
The posting specifically dismissed studies to the contrary, citing methodological problems.
In its place, there is now a neutral rendering that says some studies find a link and others do not. The fact sheet promises to convene a conference on the issue early next year.
NCI spokeswoman Nicole Gottlieb said Wednesday that the institute had no further comment.
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On the Net:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/
National Cancer Institute: http://www.nci.nih.gov/
AP-ES-12-18-02 1915EST
Ping.
Why are they even made, so many are defective, if this many of anything else were bad, the mfr would have to go out of business.
How many promiscuous men are going to use a condom to reduce the risk of cancer in someone he just met?
When spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) are NOT included in the stats, there IS evidence of a higher risk of breast cancer.
The Democratic political party of promiscuity and abortion has the gall to say politics trumping science??
When it is science that reveals a new human life begins at fertilization.
Meanwhile, over at the National Transportation Highway Safety Agency the yellow dotted line fact sheet said that refraining from walking on the line was the best way to prevent premature death resulting from Newton's 2nd law of Motion. The old version went on to say: "But for those who walk on the middle line, reflective safety vests are highly effective when used consistently and correctly."
Congressional moderates declined to comment on this companion release.
They work pretty good for keeping dirt out of the muzzle of your rifle
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