El Subdesarrollo Latinoamericano Y La Teoría Del Desarrollo

Sexually Transmitted Disease

#2

November 9, 2000

1

A preventable Tragedy

Sexually Transmitted Disease
A Preventable Tragedy
Richard Edison
Words: 1790

So, what d the labs show? she asked, with a nervous giggle, her hands fidgeting in her
lap, as she sat across from me in the examining room. A pretty girl, with red, wavy hair, a ready
smile, and laughing brown eyes, she dcome two weeks ago to see about getting a prescription for
birth control pills. She admitted to having had more than one sexual partner in the past, but didn t
seem concerned when I mentioned that this put her at risk for a sexually transmitted disease.
I only slept with that other guy once, anyway, she said with a dismissive toss of her
head. It s not like I m loose or something, you know. Shefinally agreed to get an HIV test and
a pregnancy test just to be sure.
She was back now to discuss the results and my voice shook a little as I quietly said,
They were positive.
Whadda ya mean positive ? Do you mean I m pregnant? she gasped in disbelief.
Yes, you are pregnant, I answered, then after a pause, but you re also HIV positive.
With those tragic words, this young girl s world, sofull of promise and hope, came
crashing apart. Those beautiful eyes, a moment ago sparkling with the joy of being young and
alive, filled with tears, and a low, almost inhuman moan came from her lips, Noooo!
I wish this were an isolated experience, but every day in hundreds of doctors offices and
clinics across America and around the world, similar scenarios are being tragically played out.Sexually Transmitted Disease

#2

November 9, 2000

2

A preventable Tragedy

Thousands of teenagers, of both sexes are being told that, because of a few moments of forbidden
pleasure, they are facing a possible lifetime battle with sexually transmitted diseases and their
consequences. Hundreds of teenage girls are having to make decisions about unwanted and
unexpected pregnancies,while at the same time having to deal with the physical and emotional
effects of sexually transmitted diseases. The sexual revolution of the 60s, has spawned, at the end
of the century, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. What was heralded
as free love has brought only heartache and broken lives, not freedom.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infectionstransmitted from one individual to
another through sexual contact. The more commonly encountered diseases are AIDS, chlamydia,
gonorrhea, herpes simplex, human papillomavirus (HPV or Genital Warts), pelvic inflammatory
disease (PID), chancroid, and hepatitis B. There are at least 50 diseases that have been identified
as STDs. Anyone who is sexually active can get (or give) an STD.
Approximately 12million Americans, 86 percent of whom are 15 to 25 years old, have an
STD. By their twenty-first birthday, one-fifth of youth have had to be treated for a STD. Human
immune deficiency virus (HIV) alone has infected at least 24 million people worldwide. In Africa
it has reached epidemic proportions. More than 1 million people in the United States are HIV
positive, of which an estimated half wereinfected as teenagers. In 1994, there were an estimated
1.1 million cases of gonorrhea, 3 million cases of trichomonias, and 4 million cases of
chlamydia. AIDS research costs $1.3 billion dollars per year in the United States. The annual cost
of STDs to American society is estimated to be at least $5 billion.

Sexually Transmitted Disease

#2

November 9, 2000

3

A preventableTragedy

The human suffering resulting from STD infection is far worse than the monetary cost.
Sexually transmitted diseases have caused innumerable broken homes, shattered relationships,
and untold embarrassment to their victims. They have left children orphans, wives widowed, and
couples childless. The physical suffering they cause is only outweighed by the emotional trauma
and social stigma...