subject: "HOMOSEXUALITY AND AIDS" [print this page] HOMOSEXUALITY AND AIDS HOMOSEXUALITY AND AIDS
One cannot conclude a discussion of homosexuality in our day without saying something about AIDS. This is not to suggest that only homosexuals have AIDS, because others do as well. We discuss it, instead, because the vast majority of those suffering from this disease in the Western World are homosexuals.
1. HIV-AIDS AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a relatively new disease. It was first recognized in 1981 when an unusual form of pneumonia due to a protozoan parasite killed five young men. They all lived in Los Angeles and were all homosexual. In that same year a number of young gay men died of an extremely rare form of cancer (Kaposi's sarcoma). In all of these cases, during the final phases of these diseases these men exhibited a profound impairment of their immune defense systems. Since they had been healthy most of their lives, it was reasonable to think that they were immunologically normal until the terminal disease. Thus, it appeared that their condition was "acquired," and that it was secondary to something else."
By examining these and other cases, it was discovered that this condition involves a lack of certain lymphocytes or white blood cells called T4 lymphocytes. These white blood cells are helper and regulatory cells necessary to mounting proper immune responses. Lacking these cells, a number of diseases, called "opportunistic," would attack the body, ultimately killing the person.[ii] By the middle of 1985, twelve thousand cases of the disease had been diagnosed in the U.S. alone. In 1991, ten years after discovery, AIDS had killed 126,159 Americans, and 196,000 in the U.S. were known to have the disease. It was estimated as well that 1.5 million are infected, though exact figures are not easy to come by.[iii]
We now know that AIDS is a secondary condition to the HIV virus. Moreover, the stages through which those infected pass are also fairly well known. The final stage or two stages (as some specialists count them) are AIDS. Upon infection with the HIV virus there may be a fever and rash, but they may be so slight as to go unnoticed. About four weeks later the person becomes infectious.
Tests for detecting the virus are not effective until the twelfth week, and some infected may not discover their condition until three years have passed. During this time the victim may unwittingly infect many others. The period from onset of infection until full-blown AIDS may be as short as two years or as long as fifteen. Once one has AIDS, it is fatal in one to four years. At present there is no known cure for AIDS, though some drugs such as AZT slow its onset as well as its progress.
2. AIDS through Homosexuality
It is now believed that AIDS is only passed through intimate contact with someone who is infected. The two most common ways this happens are sexual intercourse and the mingling of one's blood with that of an HIV positive person. Semen and blood are two very effective vehicles for transmitting the virus. The two most common means of mingling one's blood with that of an HIV positive person are by sharing needles when using drugs and by passing the virus from infected pregnant mothers to their babies.
Before the precise nature of AIDS was known, the blood supplies of the U.S. and a number of Western nations were contaminated with the virus. As a result, it is estimated that about 70 percent of all hemophiliacs are now infected, and many who had major surgery requiring blood transfusions are infected as well. Today it is very unlikely that AIDS would be passed through the blood supply in the West. However, that is not so in many Third World countries, particularly in Africa.
At times some have feared infection from mosquito bites or the saliva, sweat or tears of someone who has the disease. None of these has been shown to be very effective vehicles for transmitting the disease. However, while there are various ways of becoming infected with the HIV virus, quite clearly the most common is through homosexual intercourse. It is estimated that 70 percent of those suffering from the HIV virus are practicing homosexuals.
The reasons are not certain, but the most likely is that the membranes in the anal passage are not designed for sexual intercourse. Thus, when this type of sexual contact takes place, there is the greater probability that membranes will tear. The combination of bleeding and semen are a very hospitable environment for the virus and its transmission.
XI. HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN ANIMALS
Homosexual behavior in animals refers to the documented evidence of homosexual, bisexual and transgender behavior in non-human animals. Such behaviors include sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting. Homosexual and bisexual behavior are widespread in the animal kingdom: a 1999 review by researcher Bruce Bagemihl shows that homosexual behavior has been observed in close to 1500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, and is well documented for 500 of them. Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied.[iv] According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity-including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex-than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept."
Centers for Disease Control, "Pneumocystis Pneumonia-Los Angeles," Morb Mort W Rep 30 (1981): 250-252.
[ii] Centers for Disease Control, "Pneumocystis Pneumonia-Los Angeles," Morb Mort W Rep 30 (1981): 250-252.
[iii] Kathleen McCleary, "Sex, Morals and AIDS," USA Weekend (December 27-29, 1991): 5.
[iv] Gordon, Dr Dennis (10 April 2007). "Catalogue of Life' reaches one million species". National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20070713004634/http://www.niwascience.co.nz/pubs/mr/archive/2007-04-10-3. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
