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Most grotesque socially stunted losers in singles bars certainly do; the vice squad disagrees. Joel Send a noteboard - 03/03/2011 01:09:57 AM

But that one aside I will make a case for the Roman view on sex and HIV/AIDS. Now first I am not against the use of codoms and such, but the dilemma shown here is just falce.
As far as I can remember "having sex" is not a universal human right. It isn't, it really really isn't and it shouldn't be either. To abstain from sex is not a lot of fun, especially not for people in a romantic relationship, but to claim that the only choice one has as a HIV/AIDS infected person is to have sex with a condom and to have sex without a condom is simply not true.
I'm 25 years old and I havn't had sex. I'm not suffering miserably from that lack of sex and if I triple my current age all without sex, then sure I missed a lot of fun, but life ain't fair. Deal with it.


Healthy sexuality is a strong component of long term relationships, disregarding certain exceptions (asexuals, &c.). Reducing the emotional handicap that an abstaining married couple would have to endure to "miss[ing] a lot of fun, but life ain't fair" is both extremely callous and condescending.

On the contrary, I think it's rather condescending to suggest marriages (and other relationships which are usually included) must be "handicapped" without a sexual dimension). I don't see sex as a fundamental human right, largely because I don't think its absence diminishes, let alone threatens, lives the way the absence of food, shelter, healthcare or free expression do, and, intentionally or not, if we said that it did we would be strongly implying that anyone without an active sex life is, as you put it, handicapped. I don't know of a single country with programs serving public health by making sex available to those unable to get it on their own; on the contrary, rather than encouraging prostitution in the interest of fundamental human rights, it's illegal in most countries (in large part because it's often accompanied by infringement on REAL fundamental human rights ignored and trampled because of how much higher than is healthy sex is commonly prioritized). Sex is awesome, and I've never disputed that; it is not, however, vital, and the idea life isn't worth living without it is best left in junior high school where it belongs.

Meanwhile, discouraging without forbidding sex where it carries significant health risks doesn't seem unreasonable, let alone criminal, to me. On the contrary, yet again, it seems more unconscionable to encourage the false notion that condoms create some magically impermeable and fool proof barrier to both disease and pregnancy: They don't, though they are much MUCH more effective against both than is unprotected sex. Even if they never break, tear or leak and are used properly every time, if a normal man has sex with a woman 50 times (or 10 women 5 times) she'll get pregnant; in practice it's more like 3 in 20. How many women do you think would knowingly roll those dice, let alone throw STDs into the mix? Granted, the Pope has other considerations in mind (namely, the official Roman Catholic doctrine that sex for any reason save procreation is inherently sinful) and it's disingenuous to pretend otherwise, but that doesn't justify going all the way to the other extreme and saying the universal right to sex means it should be encouraged even by those who might KILL others as a result, because as long as they use condoms there's no risk. A statement, even an implication, like that is far more dangerous than anything the Pope is saying about sex.
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Charges Initiated Against The Pope For Crimes Against Humanity (heh) - 27/02/2011 09:53:59 PM 881 Views
Interesting - 27/02/2011 10:09:36 PM 388 Views
Well, that's a joke... - 27/02/2011 10:58:58 PM 467 Views
Agreed *NM* - 28/02/2011 12:31:35 AM 170 Views
How dumb. *NM* - 28/02/2011 04:09:15 AM 163 Views
I ain't no fan of the pope... - 28/02/2011 03:25:53 PM 531 Views
Re: Baptism - 28/02/2011 04:17:07 PM 397 Views
Thanks for the extra info *NM* - 28/02/2011 04:18:16 PM 162 Views
Many people believe sexuality is a fundamental human right. I tend to agree with them. - 28/02/2011 10:43:13 PM 436 Views
other people believe that the free expression of ideas is a fundamental right - 28/02/2011 11:17:14 PM 427 Views
I agree with everything you said. *NM* - 01/03/2011 01:47:43 AM 164 Views
Lets make it a bit more complicated (always fun ) - 01/03/2011 12:13:49 AM 543 Views
You act as though it's selfish to be in a sexual relationship if one has HIV. - 01/03/2011 01:55:51 AM 679 Views
I am aware of the statistics - 01/03/2011 08:52:32 AM 442 Views
Most grotesque socially stunted losers in singles bars certainly do; the vice squad disagrees. - 03/03/2011 01:09:57 AM 554 Views
that is exactly what we need to make International Criminal Court more irrelevant then it already is - 28/02/2011 04:09:57 PM 399 Views
Hah. Nice one. *NM* - 28/02/2011 10:44:05 PM 159 Views

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