Page 52 - The Marriage Covenant

This information reveals that ‘free sex’ is not free of consequences. A study of this
topic reveals that the negative health effects of becoming infected with various STDs
include: genital lesions, blisters, bumps, pustules, cankers, rashes, swelling, discomfort,
pain, etc.; vaginal and penile discharge; sterility; increased infant mortality; blindness;
dementia; arthritis and other inflammatory diseases; susceptibility to secondary infections;
cancer; and even death. This is not an exhaustive list, but merely a sampling of the
detrimental effects of STDs.
Many STDs are not curable. Some require lifelong treatment, and the risk is always
present of passing the infection to every other person with whom an individual is sexually
intimate. The incidence of certain STDs is so high that in some population groups half the
population are infected. The website Herpes Online, provides the following information.

It is overwhelming the number of people that do not realize just how strong the
genital herpes statistics are. Genital herpes is a very common virus that is affecting
a large number of the adult population these days.
In a recent study to gather genital herpes statistics, a nationally representative
study showed that genital herpes infection is very common in the United States.
Nationwide, 45 million people ages 12 and older, or one out of five (possibly as
many as 1 in 4) of the total adolescent and adult population, are infected with
HSV-2.
When taking genital herpes statistics into account, look around you at any given
time and recognize based on the genital herpes statistics just how many people are
likely to have the virus.
HSV-2 infection is more common in women (approximately one out of four
women) than in men (almost one out of five). This is according to the same genital
herpes statistics research. This may be due to male-to-female transmission being
more efficient than female-to-male transmission.
HSV-2 infection has also been found to be more common in blacks (45.9%) than in
whites (17.6%)...
Ongoing genital herpes statistics research since the late 1970s, indicate the number
of Americans with genital herpes infection has increased 30%. The largest increase
is currently occurring in young white teens. HSV-2 infection is now five times more
common in 12- to 19-year-old whites, and it is twice as common in young adults
ages 20 to 29 than it was 20 years ago.

Genital herpes is caused by the transmission of a virus from one individual to another
via sexual intercourse. The statistics above reveal the extent of sexual promiscuity in
society. To have such a large portion of the population infected there must be frequent
sexual activity among a large number of sexual partners.
Some STDs are bacterial, the most common being chlamydia. The peril of many
infections is that they remain without obvious symptoms in a great many individuals. It is
estimated that over half of the women infected with chlamydia do not know they have it.
Yet, left untreated, it can lead to serious consequences. One fact that I became aware of as
I began this study is that both gonorrhea and chlamydia can cause arthritis.

About 15,000 men develop reactive arthritis due to chlamydia infection each year
in the U.S., and about 5,000 are permanently affected by it. It can occur in both