Record STIs Lead to Real-Life Con$equence$

Tony Perkins
Family Research Council

Liberals want to get the government out of their bedroom--but they sure don't mind asking it to pay for what happens there!

That's the problem with the "privacy" argument. Democrats are more than happy to ignore what goes on behind closed doors--but they can no longer ignore the costs it incurs. Promiscuity and homosexuality are wrecking havoc on our country's physical health--and the latest reports suggest that it's doing just as much damage to our fiscal health. According to the new numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control, America is dealing with an explosion of sexually transmitted infections--and one of the biggest risks may be to U.S. taxpayers.

In the latest statistics available, there were 19,700,000 new STIs reported in 2008--the last year for which numbers are available. Based on the CDC's estimates, that brings the total number of STIs in the U.S. to just over 110 million--most of the new cases crop up in young men and women aged 15-25. The epidemic is all the more shocking when you consider that every 20 million cases cost the American health care system an additional $16 billion in direct medical costs.

Of course, this administration--which proudly zeroed out abstinence education (and any program that mentions it) -- has only perpetuated the problem. The President would rather teach kids to manage the risks (with unreliable birth control) than avoid them altogether--driving Americans to pay for the real-world consequences of the "just do it" mentality. If people want to know how someone else's promiscuity or homosexual behavior affects them, look no further than the tab for STIs. America's sexual appetite isn't just harmful to individuals but society as a whole. Can we stop this epidemic? We can, but it would require a new focus on an old approach: saving sex for marriage.