The news reports gush with excitement: For the first time, scientists have proof that condoms offer women protection against the virus that causes cervical cancer. This virus is the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
What kind of proof about condoms and HPV does this study offer?
Well the three-year study of 82 college women found that those whose partners used condoms 100 percent of the time were 70 percent less likely to become infected.
In fact the study reports that 12 out of 42 women whose partners always used condoms did get HPV. Thus, 28.5 percent of the women got HPV even with 100 percent condom use.
Why isn’t the fact that condoms, even under ideal usage conditions, failed 28.5 percent of the time the real story here? Who would consider this an acceptable failure rate when dealing with a cancer-causing virus?
For those who are still impressed by the "70 percent less" infection rate, remember that with only 82 women, the sample size is so small that the results have very little statistical significance.
If this study is proof of anything, it is proof that condoms do not provide satisfactory protection against HPV. That was the position taken by supporters of the abstinence-only approach in the first place. This study certainly does not challenge their position.
William Beckman
Executive director
Illinois Right to Life Committee
Chicago
