Did anyone here do any research or are you all listening to rumors? There are some simple facts, much against the popular rumors. A Latex condom has pores in it. They are usually about 5 microns diameter. some are as large as 50 microns. sperms ranges around 50 microns. It is very effective in blocking sperm from passing through the latex, and thus is an effective contraceptive. The HIV virus is 0.1 micron. thats 50times smaller than the holes in latex. Thats like throwing a ping-pong ball at a stretched out cargo not to cover the back of you truck with. The ping pong balls (HIV) will go through quite frequently.
Most test show about a 33% HIV leakage rate on BRAND NEW condoms. Not ones that have been shipped in a non temperature controlled truck, not ones that have been in your pocket or drawer for a long time, not ones that sat in a storage facility in the dead of winter....but brand new ones. i wouldn't trust my life to a 1 in 3 chance..
Those are just some facts. Google it and you will find more sourcs than i could imagine linking to.
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The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to the HIV virus
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This is not a "widespread" belief. Anyone who believe condoms are impermiable to HIV is a total doofus with no idea on the facts.
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Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, told the programme: "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom.
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This is true.
Condoms are not going to fix the HIV problem, though they may decrease it. They are in no way impermeable and shouldn't be counted on to prevent STDs. Does this mean we shouldn't use them at all? absolutely not. But stop and think about what the church IS saying. If the use of condoms brings a belief that they can sex up whoever they want, the rate of sex will increase. Common sense. BUT, if they find that the rate of promiscuous sex increases with condoms to a rate that is higher than the rate of protection from a condom, it would make more sense to have less sex and NOT use a condom. obviously not as good as less sex and a condom, but that isn't going to happen in africa.
Now i am not sure if they have proved the numbers to see if their position is proper at this time, but the logic behind their release makes sense.
Now, as for the tests the WHO uses to show that rubbers are "impermeable" ... heres what one scientist had to say about it :
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And it's not as if governments don't know. A study by Dr. R.F. Carey of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that "leakage of HIV-sized particles through latex condoms was detectable for as many as 29 of 89 condoms tested." These were brand new, pre-approved condoms. But Roland says a closer reading of Carey's data actually yields a 78% HIV-leakage rate, and concludes: "That the CDC would promote condoms based on [this] study...suggests its agenda is concerned with something other than public health and welfare." The federal government's standard tests, he adds, "cannot detect flaws even 70 times larger than the AIDS virus." Such tests are "blind to leakage volumes less tha one microliter - yet this quantity of fluid from an AIDS-infected individual has been found to contain as many as 100,000 HIV particles."
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Source :
http://www.conservativeforum.org/EssaysForm.asp?ID=6071
The source is obviously biased, but it doesn't mean its wrong. Many other pages cite similar informaiton as well.