Vatican lies about condoms
Oct. 9th, 2003 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avramI’ve seen on two people’s journals today that the Vatican is telling people that condoms don’t cut down on the spread of AIDS.
I hunted around a bit for details, and found the Straight Dope: They’re just passing around a bit of false information that the anti-sex people have been spouting for at least a decade, since 1992, when Mike Roland (editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology) wrote to The Washington Times claiming that the latex used in condoms has intrinsic pores around 5 microns in size, which would let the HIV virus (0.1 micron) float right through.
Thing is, Roland didn’t examine condoms, he examined latex gloves, which are made to much looser standards. (And even those standards have been tightened up since then.)
This would explain why lab tests have shown that no known STD can penetrate an intact condom.
And you folks in the Vatican, remember: False witness and fraudulent council both get you the Eighth Circle, so better get yourself to confession!
I hunted around a bit for details, and found the Straight Dope: They’re just passing around a bit of false information that the anti-sex people have been spouting for at least a decade, since 1992, when Mike Roland (editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology) wrote to The Washington Times claiming that the latex used in condoms has intrinsic pores around 5 microns in size, which would let the HIV virus (0.1 micron) float right through.
Thing is, Roland didn’t examine condoms, he examined latex gloves, which are made to much looser standards. (And even those standards have been tightened up since then.)
This would explain why lab tests have shown that no known STD can penetrate an intact condom.
And you folks in the Vatican, remember: False witness and fraudulent council both get you the Eighth Circle, so better get yourself to confession!
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Date: 2003-10-10 02:37 pm (UTC)