The author, Eric J. Keroack, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., gave the presentation on June 27, 2003, for the National Abstinence Clearinghouse 2003 Conference.
He's in the news, as described by UPI:
...the Bush Administration came under fire for appointing Eric Keroack to head the federal Office of Population Affairs, which oversees the government's reproductive health efforts and has a budget of $283 million. Keroack, an obstetrician and gynecologist, was previously medical director of a Boston group that opposes premarital sex, abortion and contraception.
Bush has called the appointment a matter of "principles" and stressed Keroack's experience dealing with women and girls in crisis, but opponents of the appointment say it is putting ideology before science -- and women's health...
I won't belabor the point; Tara and PZ are all over it, as is the rest of the reality-based Blogosphere. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10...there are many more, but you get the point)
Opponents of abstinence-only programs often point out the lack of scientific justification for the programs. Keroack counters by spouting nonsense that sounds scientific. But germ warfare? That's just plain idiotic.
Comments
Wow. Idiotic, indeed. Thanks, doc, for bringing this nonsense to the light of day.
Posted by: Abel Pharmboy | November 18, 2006 8:18 AM
Wow. I immediately remembered that storyline on Farscape, where the Nebari infect their rebellious youth with STD viruses and then exile them, knowing they'll spread the disease among the Nebari's enemies... This isn't that, at least, but it's still pretty whacked.
Posted by: The Ridger | November 18, 2006 8:49 AM
This is classic pseudoscience. They lost the battle over whether or not people could protect themselves from STDs, so now they've backed up to inventing "psychological damage". They should just be honest and make their slogan:
Go f*ck yourself, its the only way to Stay Safe!
Posted by: MarkP | November 18, 2006 10:06 AM
Just checked the ABMS website. There is no Erick Keroack listed, which means he is probably not even board certified.
Posted by: Ponds | November 19, 2006 2:24 PM
I propose we invade every singles bar and frat house in the country to look for GMD (Genitals of Mass Destruction).
Posted by: Heraldblog | November 19, 2006 10:38 PM
As somewhat of an aside, this has got to be one of the worst powerpoint presentations I have ever seen. Not necessarily due to its content, though that has its own issues. All those different sized fonts and colors and bold text, if you want a lot of smoke and mirrors and you want to really confuse your audience then this is the way to do it.
Posted by: mark a | November 20, 2006 10:54 AM