Safe sex next front in China's AIDS battle

[Doodlebug]

BEIJING (Reuters) - When Dawei first started having sex, he had no idea that using a condom could help protect him from AIDS. Now he never leaves home without putting a few in his bag.

"I didn't use condoms," said the 23-year-old. "I thought that because we were comfortable with each other, we didn't have to. I had only a very hazy idea about AIDS then."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060222/...N5bnN1YmNhdA--

I think this is great news. Safer sex is a very important factor in the battle against AIDs/HIV.

[adam]

Another reason why China has been ramping up it's safe sex education is so couples know how to properly use contraception, and have an easier time with the 1 child rule. It's cheaper to teach someone how to use condoms than to force a woman to have an abortion.

But seriously, the amount of misinformation when it comes to sex, especially in the third world, is absolutely staggering. While misguided teenagers in the West think you can't get pregnant on your first time or something to that degree, it is not an uncommon belief in Africa that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. More information is always a good thing.

[Doodlebug]

I personally have some very serious disagreements with their restriction on how many children you can have. I disagree even more with the forced abortion thing. I understand that overpopulation may be a concern for them but I don't feel that it is right for them to have and enforce such rules on the population.

Anyway, if they want to keep the population down then promoting contraception is definitely a good idea. I just hope that they accurately portray it and tell everyone about the risks as well as the benefits.