Rome, Italy, Jun 9, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- In an about-face, health officials in Moscow have acknowledged that “safe-sex does not exist” and are opting for abstinence-based education for young people. “One should propagandize total abstinence before marriage,” Ludmila Stebenkova of Moscow's parliamentary committee for health care told the Pravda news service.

Stebenkova, who is in charge of health care for the 12 million inhabitants of Moscow, believes that  “the safe sex propaganda in the USA, for example, has resulted in the dissolution of morals. Sexually transmitted diseases started progressing there. That is why the US government assigns huge money to promote the value of innocence and virginity. It is coming into fashion.”

"People started thinking after the ‘Safe Sex’ program that they would be able to protect themselves against any disease,” she added.  Pravda reports that the latest data indicates that “papillomas has increased by 50 percent over several recent years. The number of herpes and fungal infection patients has been growing lately as well.”

Speaking to the Russian daily Izvestia, Stebenkova explained that “during the last three years Americans have quadrupled their funding for premarital sex-ed programs.”  “Medical centers and schools over there have excluded from their programs any mention of condoms as a contraceptive method.  By promoting safe sex, people are not taught that extra-martial, early sexual contact among young people leads to not only to physical but also psychological negative consequence.  Why should we make the same mistakes?” she asked.

Stebenkova criticized government funded “safe-sex programs” as nothing more than opportunities for certain agencies to steal money from the state coffers.  She pointed to the recent case of the Ukraine, where $2.6 million was set aside for the purchasing of condoms and $300,000 for training in how to use them.  “Could someone tell me what kind of class on how to put on condoms could cost $300,000?” she wondered.  Ukraine officials eventually canceled the program.

Stebenkova said her committee intends to spend $900,000 on educational programs, television ads and billboards with the slogans, “Healthy Family, Defense against AIDS” and “Safe-sex does not exist.”

Supporters of condoms are attempting to block Stebenkova’s efforts, alleging that young people will be confused by international propaganda that favors “safe-sex” over abstinence.

Stebenvoka said she will not be deterred by organizations “that represent an ideology in decline.  They simply have to spend the money donated by (George) Soros and his other patrons,” she said, in a reference to international funds that are sent to Russia for promoting the use of condoms.

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