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Iowa Family Policy Center: Legislative inaction will lead to higher HIV rates
3/12/2010

Pleasant Hill, IA - On Wednesday, March 10th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that again confirms the self-destructive nature of homosexual behavior in men. The report, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/Newsroom/msmpressrelease.html, reveals that new cases of HIV are diagnosed among men who have sex with men at a rate that is 44 times higher than in men who do not. Likewise, the study asserts that the syphilis rates among men who engage in homosexual behavior is 46 times that of men who do not. According to the report, "The range was 522-989 cases of new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 MSM [among men who have sex with men] vs. 12 per 100,000 other men and 13 per 100,000 women."

"While the heavy toll of HIV and syphilis among gay and bisexual men has been long recognized, this analysis shows just how stark the health disparities are between this and other populations,"according to Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.

Even though the report included speculative language that attempted to blame "homophobia and stigma" for the HIV epidemic among men who engage in homosexual activity, it also included data on the physiological realities of engaging in dangerous sexual behavior. For example, according to the CDC, "the risk of HIV transmission through receptive anal sex is much greater than the risk of transmission via other sexual activities."

Reacting to the report, IFPC Action President Chuck Hurley said, "Iowa lawmakers need to pay attention to hard facts and not be persuaded by emotion laden half-truths." He went on to say, "Because of their unwillingness to correct the error of last April's Iowa Supreme Court opinion, the Iowa Legislature is responsible for sanctioning activities that will lead to dramatically higher rates of HIV and syphilis in Iowa." Last April 3rd, the Iowa Supreme Court, acting outside their constitutional parameters, issued an opinion that has since been treated as law concerning the issuance of marriage licenses to homosexual couples.

Referring to the report, Hurley said, "The CDC claims 'there is no single or simple solution for reducing HIV and syphilis rates among gay and bisexual men,' but that ignores the obvious. Instead, the CDC ought to clearly state that if men want to greatly reduce their odds of contracting HIV and syphilis, they should not engage in homosexual activity."

"The Iowa Legislature outlawed smoking in an effort to improve health and reduce the medical costs that are often passed on to the state," said Hurley who pointed out that according to the CDC, people who smoke are 10 to 20 times as likely to get lung cancer as nonsmokers. (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm) "The secondhand impacts of certain homosexual acts are arguably more destructive, and potentially more costly to society than smoking. Homosexual activity is certainly more dangerous for the individuals who engage in it than is smoking. The CDC report only punctuates a need for the legislature to step up and take action on the Iowa Marriage Amendment." Hurley concluded his remarks by saying, "Rather than sanctioning self destructive behavior, the great state of Iowa ought to take decisive action to promote real marriage as the foundation of healthy families and a healthy state."

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CONTACT:

Bryan M. English

Iowa Family Policy Center / Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION

Phone (515) 263-3495


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