(NSFW) This is a two part question about diseases and protection.

1. Suppose a woman goes to see a doctor for a women’s health issue unrelated to STDs. The doctor takes a history, and the woman reports that she has been having regular sexual intercourse with a male partner and uses the pill for contraception. She is not in any high risk groups for HIV transmission.

Is it appropriate for the doctor to strongly and repeatedly encourage this patient to use condoms with her partner to protect her from getting an STD from her partner? On the one hand, it is true that condoms are helpful in preventing against STDs. But on the other, this is common knowledge, any sexual contact is a calculated risk, and this case involves a pretty minute amount of risk.

2. Are there value judgments associated with STDs, and if so, are they reasonable? With a few important exceptions, STDs are largely curable. Do we, as a culture, overreact to the possibility of getting STDs? Do you, on a personal level, make a value judgment about someone getting an STD that you wouldn’t make about another contagious illness?