Boston College in Newton, Massachusetts recently send students distributing condoms out of their dorms a warning that they might face disciplinary actions. These students were part of an unofficial student group called BC Students for Sexual Health. These students send out information on male and female condoms, lubricants and pamphlets without cost so students could learn about sexually transmitted diseases.
The basis for the decision was that this practice contradicts “the values and traditions of Boston College as a Jesuit, Catholic institution.”
I would like to offer a different perspective on this decision. Condoms are a great barrier to sexually transmitted disease. Many of the women I see as patients are divorced and in their later reproductive years. Many have not dated in years and now must reenter the singles world where new rules apply. Diseases such as chlamydia are extremely common and often undetected. According to the CDC, there are 2.8 million cases of chlamydia annually and 718,000 cases of gonorrhea. These problems are so prevalent that the CDC recommends screening all sexually active women under the age of 25. The problem is that these diseases often have no symptoms initially and this can lead to infertility in both the younger and the reproductively older women. And that prevents conception.
So it is an irony that what on the surface is a contraception (diaphragms and condoms), by prevention sexually transmitted disease transmission including diseases like hepatitis, chlamydia and gonorrhea which prevent women from conceiving. If one takes that perspective, condoms are pro life.
