It doesn't matter that reality doesn't actually work like that...
"The science is settled"
Contraceptive pill linked to AIDS
FRONT ROYAL, VA /Christian Newswire/ -- According to Joan Robinson, a researcher at the Population Research Institute, studies show that there is a strong scientific link between hormonal contraceptives and a woman's risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
According to Robinson, more than 50 medical studies to date have investigated a link between hormonal contraceptive use and HIV/AIDS infection. "The science is settled," Robinson says. "Hormonal contraceptives -- the oral pill and Depo-Provera -- increase almost all known risk factors for HIV, from upping a woman's risk of infection, to increasing the replication of the HIV virus, to speeding the debilitating and deadly progression of the disease."
This scientific consensus has received almost no publicity to date, Robinson continues, because of strong economic and ideological forces that push the pill.
Read the entire article here.
Edited to Add:
Here are a few articles that offer more information-
The Pill's Deadly Affair with HIV/AIDS-This gives a lot more information from the studies and has footnotes with links.
And here the Population Research Institutes Version (with their sources too)
Pope Paul VI, right again.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't dispute the findings, I think that I would like to view the research. The article mentions the skewed view that many "pill pushers" have with their research, but neglects to mention that her research is for the Population Research Institute whose agenda is dispel the myth that the world is over populated. The Institute is trying to eliminate abortion and birth control pills from society. I would be interested to see what a neutral, third party's findings are if her research is duplicated. Sorry my hubby is a scientist. I've learned to scrutinize everything.
ReplyDeleteHi Deltaflute-
ReplyDeleteI added the links up above so you can see the footnotes. My husband had read them originally and told me about them, so I knew they were out there, but I'd only read Cal Catholics version because I was so sleepy last night when I posted.
Interesting...I know that Yasmin among others has been linked to blood clots in the legs. There's a nasty law suit against them. But the people taking them should read the warning labels. They warn you of the blood clots and not to smoke. Things can't be very good if you have to watch your habits while taking them. And for most women, it's totally optional. So it seems plausible that taking the pill can increase your chances of AIDS especially if you have HIV already.
ReplyDeleteOh and thanks for the extra links. If you lived with my husband, you'd learn to question everything. It's how his mind works.
I'm with Deltaflute...so thanks for posting the extra links! I wish I was still in college so I could find a copy of the actual study to read.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about this...I see a lot of posts from Catholics, who rightly so, hate the pill, and basically share horror story "findings" from sources who have the same motive. I take the pill for health reasons that could someday make me infertile (preventative medicine) so I believe the pill can do good. And doctors HAVE to share information like an aids connection with a patient...they cannot just keep this stuff under wraps because of our culture.
ReplyDeletedon't believe everything you read.
I find this really enlightening. I was curious about the connection between HPV and contraceptive pills based off this evidence, and there is a ton of information out there regarding it. The American Cancer Society actually posted something on their website (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Cervical_Cancer_Linked_To_Birth_Control_Pills.asp) about this and its not surprising to find that the risk for cervical cancer is increased dramatically with long term use of BC pills. This only has to be 5 years. Right now, the American public believes that HPV is caused by multiple sexual partners (obviously doesn't help) along with men actually "giving" women HPV. Studies are being done that disprove the idea of men giving women it. I only listed one website, but I think it just shows how destructive BC pills are and how ignorant the public is to these risks. How do you feel about it?
ReplyDeleteHi R.A.,
ReplyDeleteAs I'm sure you know the Church recognizes that there are reasons for taking the pill, when contraception isn't the intention of the use.
I can say that I hated "the pill" long before I became Catholic. I hated the way that it made my body and mind feel, and couldn't quite buy into the idea that it was worth it for it's general purpose. And that was when I was a pro-choice woman who had volunteered at Planned Parenthood.
A lot of drugs have very serious risks, but sometimes the benefits outweigh those risks. It sounds like that's the case for you. But for the vast majority, using the pill for it's intended purpose, the increased risk of quite a few life threatening conditions just isn't a clear trade.
Yes, the pill comes with warnings. I've read the label and I was lectured about all the warning signs to look for when I worked at PP (it was almost a decade ago but I believe two of the four big ones were pain in the legs and severe headaches because of the risk of clots). One really has to wonder how many people read those warnings (I doubt many of the teen girls I met when I worked there did). And I never had a doctor run through a list of all the risks associated with the medications I was taking, so that statement is quite simply wrong.
I believe what I read when it matches up with my own life experience.
Catholic or not I know (from my pre-Catholic life) that I wouldn't take the pill, even if it was for a reason that the Church deemed okay. The risks (one of which I've experienced and thankfully survived) are, in my opinion, not worth the trade off. I would rather be alive, and I doubt that I would be if I had continued taking the pill.
Of course, everyone has to make that decision for themselves.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this, especially along with the more detailed links.
ReplyDeleteIt never ecen crossed my mind that the pill could be linked to Aids!!
ReplyDeleteAnd LouLou, my mom contracted cervical cancer at 19 years old. She was not with anyone, but she was on the pill for medical reasons. At the time, her doctor had no idea how she could have gotten it, but our doctor now belives she got it from the hormones from the pill.