STDs on the Rise

The CDC is reporting that this year the number of cases of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis in the United States all went up.  From the Huffington Post:

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they think better and more intensive screening accounts for much of the increase, but added that chlamydia was not the only sexually transmitted disease on the rise.

Gonorrhea rates are jumping again after hitting a record low, and an increasing number of cases are caused by a “superbug” version resistant to common antibiotics.

Syphilis is rising, too. The rate of congenital syphilis _ which can deform or kill babies _ rose for the first time in 15 years.

And yet Catholics still think that condoms are evil.  I’m sure that their god is more worried about a rubber than about human lives.

 Syphilis

Archbishop of Mozambique Claims Condoms Tainted

The BBC reports that,

 Archbishop Chimoio told our reporter that abstention, not condoms, was the best way to fight HIV/Aids.

“Condoms are not sure because I know that there are two countries in Europe, they are making condoms with the virus on purpose,” he alleged, refusing to name the countries.

“They want to finish with the African people. This is the programme. They want to colonise until up to now. If we are not careful we will finish in one century’s time.”

Chimoio is the head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique, and therefore the leader of an estimated 3.35 million people.  It is also estimated that in Mozambique 500 people are infected with HIV every day.

This is another example of how religion effects everyone.  Publicly making statements and accusations like those of the Archbishop takes you out of the realm of personal beliefs and into the realm of public policy.  So next time you religious apologists say peoples personal beliefs shouldn’t be attacked, remember that it’s not personal if it is killing people.  And that damn well makes it my business.