Condoms for Students

Your report (Dec. 4) on the chaotic Dec. 2 meeting at Roosevelt High School to discuss making condoms available in Los Angeles schools did not tell the full story.

I did indeed state that the concerns expressed by school nurse Deborah Gilbert were based on outdated and inaccurate studies. However, I agree with her that condoms are not a 100% solution to stopping the spread of AIDS. It was her contention that condoms fail 50% of the time that I disputed.

Your reporters could have dug deeper to examine where the “boisterous crowd of about 1,500 people” came from. A recent survey by the RAND Institute shows that 98% of the people in Los Angeles support AIDS education at the junior and senior high level and 87% support it at the elementary school level. Yet, the audience was overwhelming opposed to the condom proposal and seemingly against all AIDS education except abstinence. I was roundly booed despite the fact that I did not express any support for distributing condoms. Large groups of people were bused in.

Every medical professional I know would prefer that students and other young adults avoid AIDS by postponing sexual relations until marriage. However, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy among teens would indicate many are not choosing to abstain. They should not be denied the knowledge or the means to protect themselves.

ALIZA LIFSHITZ, MD

Beverly Hills