SA: STDs in The US Are Dramatically Increasing, And There’s a Key Factor to Blame

Science Alert posted the following:

STDs in The US Are Dramatically Increasing, And There’s a Key Factor to Blame

April 13, 2022

Reported cases of many types of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) went up in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the frequency of screenings decreased, an official report said Tuesday.

The pandemic worsened an underlying trend of increasing STDs over the past decade, blamed on declining public health funding, said Jonathan Mermin, a doctor and senior official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which authored the report.

Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis were up 10 percent and 7 percent respectively, compared to 2019. …

Overall, 2.4 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported. …

Reported cases of STDs initially decreased during the early months of 2020 when lockdowns enforced social distancing, but they resurged by the end of the year.

Factors blamed for the spike include reduced frequency of in-person healthcare services resulting in less screening; diversion of health workers from STD work to respond to the COVID pandemic; STD test and lab supply shortages; and lapses in health insurance due to unemployment. …

Over half of reported STDs were among 16 to 24-year-olds. … 42 percent of cases of primary and secondary syphilis were among gay and bisexual males. https://www.sciencealert.com/fewer-routine-screenings-during-pandemic-saw-a-30-rise-in-these-preventable-diseases

The ‘key factor’ in not getting an STD (sexually transmitted disease; also known as VD for venereal disease; also known as STIs, sexually transmitted infections) is not lack of funding. The key factor is that American society encourages fornication, pornography, and other forms of sexual immorality.

I recall a statistic, from last decade, that indicated about 1/4 of unmarried British females got a sexually transmitted infection the first time they had sex and about 1/5 of unmarried USA females did as well. Years back, it was reported that about 1/2 of sexually-active unmarried USA teenage females reportedly have a SDI/STD (Reuters, March 11, 2008). Homosexual males may have the highest rate of STDs of any group (http://www.cdc.gov/std/life-stages-populations/stdfact-msm.htm). Promiscuity in the UK, USA, and elsewhere continues. New Zealand females have been reported to be the most promiscuous in the world (New Zealand women most promiscuous Sydney Morning Herald AAP – Oct 13, 2007. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/13/1191696214489.html).

Norman Edwards had the following in an edition of Shepherd’s Voice magazine:

This is the first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:24-25).

Mankind has, to a large degree, obeyed this command through the centuries, though too often out of order. Today, it is common for young people to do it backwards: get naked and have sex (“one flesh”), then think about getting married and/or being able to afford to leave mother and father. Such a practice is absolutely devastating to family and future. But it essentially taught in most public schools. Most secular counselors today teach sex between consenting adults (and maybe teens) is fine as long as love is involved. But what does God say?

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Ob – scene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes — these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do (Ephesians 5:1-7, NLT).

The goal of public school sex education is to help teens make “informed choices” and practice “safe sex”—avoiding diseases and unwanted pregnancy. But after decades of that kind of education, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention tells us there are still 110 million Americans with Sexually Transmissible Infections. Also, in round numbers, there are about 2 million unwanted babies born in the USA each year. Half of them are aborted, the other half are raised by somebody who may or may not love them: maybe both parents, but more likely one parent, a grand parent, a friend, a foster family or a combination of the above.

The Tough Lessons of Reality

These unplanned children are the focal point of family fights, custody battles, child support cases, abuse, government assistance cases, and so many other things that make their lives and our lives unhappy. This writer has worked in a ministry to homeless people for the past four years and has experience first-hand the children—some now adults—who grew up knowing they were unwanted by one or both parents.

In our brief experience helping homeless single women with unplanned pregnancies, we have experienced nearly the full spectrum of difficulties: The mother wants to keep her baby and her family wants him (babies are “him” for clarity) aborted. Her family wants the baby but her mother wants him aborted. The mother wants the baby and the father does not—and vice versa. A women wants a baby so bad they are willing to get pregnant by almost anyone—because she wants someone to love and hopes the baby will love her. The mother wants a baby to get his government assistance and child support. A woman wants a baby, but frequently leaves him with family and friends for extended periods of time— sometimes without warning. Some men do not care about child support because they never planned to work. Our courts often do become wise to these situations and terminate current and future parental rights to these irresponsible parents.

We have known people who told partners they were infertile so that they could have unprotected sex—but were actually lying. Our homeless ministry once housed three women who were all told a similar story by the same man—and who had all gotten pregnant by him. On the opposite side, we have seen women claim to be pregnant when they were not—either hoping a man would marry her thinking she had his baby, or simply because others would give things to a poor single mom. All of these lies just make it more difficult for people to practice the truth of God and to care for the real babies and mothers who honestly want help, and who often got into such a mess without knowing what they are doing. Indeed, some of them grew up with their parents frequently lying to them and having sex with whoever was convenient at the moment.

Men have long-term consequences as well as women. Once a court orders a man to pay child support, if he gets behind in his payments, he is likely to have his wages or bank account garnished or his driver’s license suspended—anywhere in the country. This is in some ways like the biblical requirement for a single man who has sex with a single women—me must pay the “bride price” no matter what, but the woman’s father can refuse him as a husband (Ex 22:16- 17). Needless to say, immoral men who are able to earn a good living do not like the prospect of paying child support for 18 years to someone they do not really care about.

One future-thinking immoral man we knew, when a girl friend told him she was pregnant by him, committed a burglary and used the proceeds to pay for their baby’s abortion. He was sentenced to a couple years in prison for the burglary, but the abortion was legal. Another woman who previously stayed with us had an immoral boyfriend who was not so future-thinking. She obtained court- ordered child support, so he moved to another state hoping to avoid it. When back child support payments caught up with him, his solution was to come back and kill their baby. He is now doing a life sentence in prison. This is just part of the mess that grows out of unmarried sex. Our nation, legislature and our courts will some day be judged for telling our mothers and fathers it is all right to kill their babies—as long as they do it before they are born. But so many young people simply do not think about any of these complications when they want sex without commitment.

Almost as sad, are some of the parents who decide to keep and love their unplanned children, but simply are not able to. Some of them have so little knowledge of the things they need: how to build good relationship, why a lifelong marriage is important, how to get a job, how to work hard at a job, how to keep their home organized, how to teach and train a child, etc. Most of them are running on the media’s teaching that sex and relationships are fun, and the “sex education” they had in high school.

Sex education teaches “informed choices”, but sometimes all of the choices are bad. A parent with an unwanted child is often left to choose between:

1) Abort (kill) the baby.
2) Raise the baby knowing one or more people will likely be forever angry at the baby (because of child support payments or because the baby will remind them of someone’s illegitimate sex).
3) Put the baby up for adoption (which may be a disaster for the parent who loves the baby—and a future nightmare when the child later decides to find out who are his or her real parents and who abandoned him or her).

The “sex education” method to prevent this problem is to better educate them to practice “safe sex”. But that goes against the nature of sex. It is so powerful; it is so emotional. When sex is awesome, one’s logical processes give way to one’s passion. And that is good. People should experience sex to the fullest. God said it was very good (Genesis 1:31). But that is why He said sex belongs in marriage—where there are loving, committed parents to raise any babies that come along— planned or not. But when sex is outside of marriage, when powerful passions cause people not to remember the pregnancy prevention they learned in high school, the result is millions of unplanned pregnancies and STIs. Sure, there are many birth control methods that boast over 95% effectiveness. This writer has met individuals who claimed to have gotten pregnant while using nearly every one of the different available “foolproof” methods.

Even if sex education programs had 10 times the budget and could become 10 times as effective, they would still be failures. 11 million Americans with STD’s and 200,000 unwanted babies born every year would still be way too many.

Many of those stories Norman Edwards relates are heartbreaking. (Norman Edwards was once in the old WCG and was on the board of the old GCG.)

All need to heed the following from the Apostle Paul:

13 Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body… 1 Corinthians 6:18

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:13,18; KJV)

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:24-32)

8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:8-13)

Christians are not to get close to sexual immorality, nor condone it.

Jesus taught:

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

The body and mind are not for fornication, homosexuality, or other forms of sexual immorality.

That is a way that leads to misery and destruction.

The Bible says that obeying God’s laws protects from diseases:

9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.

12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13 And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. (Deuteronomy 7:9-15)

Even the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agrees that avoiding promiscuity is the best defense:

The most reliable ways to avoid transmission of STDs are to abstain from sexual activity, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner. (Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/STD.htm, viewed 03/24/13)

Being faithful to biblical admonitions against fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are the “most reliable ways to avoid transmission” of sexually-transmitted diseases.

STDs affect society in many negative ways.

The Bible has long warned against sexual immorality (Exodus 20:14; 1 Corinthians 6:18), including homosexuality (Jude 7), and that deadly pestilences would be around in the end times (Matthew 24:4-8; Revelation 6:7-8). They were prophesied to increase for those who disobeyed God’s laws:

58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues — great and prolonged plagues — and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28:58-61)

As far as diseases of Egypt, it is reported that Egyptian prostitutes would get a tattoo in their pubic regions to supposedly prevent STDs (see Tattoos: History and Biblical Teachings).

Notice also an end time prophecy:

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-8)

The CDC is ever learning about STDs, but does not emphasize abstinence for the unmarried and other aspects of sexual morality.

Keeping God’s laws prevents STDs and their resulting problems.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Love, Marriage, and Sex It is important to get them in the right order.
Making Your Marriage Work Marriage is not always easy, but it pictures a divine relationship. How can you make your marriage work? Here is a link to the video sermon: You Can Make YOUR Marriage Work.
Why sex and marriage? What are each spouse’s responsibilities regarding sex in the marriage? What is not allowed according to God’s word? Why is there sex and why is there marriage? Parental discretion is advised as to whether or not everything in this article is now appropriate for their children. Dr. Thiel goes over scriptures, The Missing Dimension in Sex, and provides answers to questions many have had. A related sermon is available: Sex and Marriage. Here is that sermon in the Spanish language: Matrimonio y sexo.
Are any types of birth control scripturally allowed? Did Jesus make a statement that might be consistent with birth control? Are there any methods that might be appropropriate? What methods would be biblically prohibited? Here is a link a related video: Can Christians Use Birth Control?
Pornography: A scourge on society Is pornography harmless fun? Does the Bible teach anything about it? What are the views of some involved with it? A related sermons is titled: Pornography, False Comfort, and False Religion. Here a shorter YouTube video Pornography: Harmless Fun or a Scourge on Society?
Ashley Madison: Your Sins Will Find You Out A website promoting ‘secret’ affairs (adultery and fornication) was hacked. This video discusses some of the Bible’s perspectives on that.
Dating: A Key to Success in Marriage, a practical dating guide for Christians This is a scripture-filled dating guide. It discusses many aspects of dating, as well as who to not consider for marriage. Two related sermons are available: The Art of Christian Dating. and No One to Date? Teen Q&A? Engagement? 2nd Marriage? A short animation is also available: First Date: Worldly vs. Christian.
Making Your Marriage Work Marriage is not also easy, but it pictures a divine relationship. How can you make your marriage work? Here is a link to the video sermon: You Can Make YOUR Marriage Work.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God. For a more detailed discussion of the last six commandments, please see: The Ten Commandments: Loving Your Neighbor. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 十条诫命显示爱，违反诫命的就是邪恶的