Hopeful News on Birth Control
The Vatican may be softening its opposition to condom usage Meanwhile, the issue could become moot: British scientists are working on a drug to keep men from ejaculating.The Guardian:
The Roman Catholic church has taken the first step towards what could be a historic shift away from its total ban on the use of condoms.
Pope Benedict XVI’s “health minister” is understood to be urging him to accept that in restricted circumstances – specifically the prevention of Aids – barrier contraception is the lesser of two evils.
The recommendations, which have not been made public, still have to be reviewed by the traditionally conservative Vatican department responsible for safeguarding theological orthodoxy, and then by the Pope himself, before any decision is made.
The rethink, commissioned by Pope Benedict following his election last year, could save millions of lives around the world. It is likely to be raised today when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has his first full discussion with the Pope at an audience in the Vatican.
Dig, Root, GrowBBC:
Scientists are working on a contraceptive treatment which would stop men ejaculating sperm.
King’s College London researchers saw blood pressure and schizophrenia drugs had this effect, and have identified chemicals which can do the same thing.
The team now plan to test the chemicals in animal and human studies and hope to have a treatment in five years.
Fertility experts welcomed the work, saying it could mean couples could share contraceptive responsibility. Link
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Soon, men may be able to shoulder the burden of contraception without the finality of vasectomy or the muss and fuss of condoms.
Thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the gold rush happening in the field of condom research.
An undercover advocate from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia recorded a conversation with a counselor at a crisis pregnancy center during which she was told, among other outrageous things, that condoms don’t protect against STDs, birth control pills increase the risk of breast cancer, and -- brace yourself -- she would encounter her aborted child’s soul in the future.
Condoms are cheap and effective, but they also diminish sexual pleasure, and that gets in the way of lifesaving.
Women who carry around condoms -- including sex workers who use them to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases -- are being criminalized in cities across the United States, as police agencies view possession of prophylactics as evidence of prostitution.
We will do our utmost to report this story without cheesy double entendres. Here goes: Southern California is associated with various people, places and phenomena -- Hollywood, spray tans and bottle blondes, beachside homelessness, that stretch of the 101 highway that's always featured in car commercial, and porn, to name a few.
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