Paradise Preoccupied

With the high horse of self righteous condemnation being put out to pasture, many health issues … stem cell use is a good example … should see the glaring light of day.

One that’s new to me (Thanks, Robbie!) and has me jumping for hopeful joy is active research in microbicides … a possible method of preventing the transmission of HIV that would allow people to protect themselves without having to count on the cooperation of sexual partners.

There is progress on the development of gels that can be applied discreetly and are undetectable, but stop the virus from passing one from one person to another.

As this article from the NY Times illustrates, insistence on condom use can and does frequently result in immediate consequences that make safeguarding self impossible …

Women in poor countries need a vaginal gel that blocks the AIDS virus but not sperm because many still want children. They also need one that can be inserted secretly: for too many women, any action that implies that a partner is infected is likely to result in a beating.

Rape is also common in cases of resistance to sexual advances from infected husbands, and domestic abuse is not limited to adults, and if the simple application of a readily available substance can keep the horrible damage to the trauma of the time … and that truly is all that is possible for hundreds of thousands … the world will be a better place.

Please pass the word and support and encourage continuing research into this ray of hope.