Lim: Condoms

WHAT is it about condoms that strikes fear in the heart of the church?

The Department of Health (DOH) under the helm of Secretary Esperanza Cabral has been chastised and condemned for distributing condoms to the public. But why should the good secretary and all the good people at the DOH be criticized for simply doing their jobs?

This is a free country—for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The Catholic bishops and all the pro-life groups can preach to their flock till they drop but they have no right to condemn public officials for simply doing what they are mandated to do. Not all of us think condoms are evil.

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What the bishops clearly don’t get until now is the separation of church and state. Our bishops today seem to think they are operating during the Spanish times. The government is not the church. And the church is not the government.

Condoms are being made available by the DOH to the public to prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). Those who do not believe in condom use are not compelled to accept and/or use these condoms.

The allegation made by pro-life groups that Secretary Cabral is lying to the public about the effectivity of condoms against STDs is sinfully shameless. The public need only read the literature on the prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV and Aids, to understand the role of condoms in STD prevention.

No one is claiming that condoms are 100 percent effective against the spread of STDS. Ultimately, it is your sexual behavior and the sexual behavior of your partner that determines your vulnerability to STDs. No one is disputing the fact that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the best way to prevent the spread of STDs but it would be naïve for the health secretary to assume that the majority of the Filipino population is not having sex.

One’s sexual activity is one’s business but when such activities contribute to the spread of disease then this becomes a public concern. This is where the health secretary comes in. Whatever her personal convictions and religious beliefs may be, she is expected to serve public interest. I laud the DOH for standing firm on their decision to distribute condoms to the public.

The bishops claim that distribution of condoms promotes promiscuity. I disagree. I believe that one’s behavior is neither determined nor defined by what is made available to you. If you don’t drink, all the liquor in the world placed in front of you will not make you drink. If you don’t gamble, going through all the casinos in the world will not tempt you to drop a dime in any of the slot machines.

Contrary to what the bishops believe, condoms are not going to make people drop their pants. People are going to have sex when they want to—with or without condoms around, with or without the bishops’ blessings.

The bishops should really stop trying to sell us this line about condoms promoting promiscuity or I’m going to start believing that the bishops are judging all of us based on their personal standards.
 
(sunstarcebucolumnist@yahoo.com)