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Comment by nerdjon | Hacker News Reader

Seriously, people need to stop with this negative side effects bullshit.

Yes there are side effects, there are fucking side effects to almost anything medical.

The side effects are minimal at worst considering you have to go into the doctor every 3 months for testing (both for the side effects and a full STD panel). If they notice an issue they take you off of it.

Condoms are not 100% though, neither is prep. Its just another option and if the US was not being gouged in the price of prep, the cost would not be much different than the cost of condoms depending on how frequently you are having sex.

I am showing personal responsibility by both myself and my husband using Prep and getting tested regularly.

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> I am showing personal responsibility by both myself and my husband using Prep and getting tested regularly.

Can't understand why you need PrEP unless you or your husband have unprotected sex outside marriage. That's the personal responsibility needed for both you and your husband: not having unprotected sex with other partners.

Again, can't see why the state or the other people paying their health insurances should have to pay for your preferences when it comes to use a condom. Nobody likes to use condoms... yet, responsible people, do.

We are both on prep because we are in an open relationship, and yes sometimes that involves "unprotected" sex.

Again though, if it was not for the fact that the US continues to charge significantly more than any other country I would happily pay for it myself.

I already pay for the copay. I am not personally asking for the government or anyone else to pay for my Prep.

But, as it is we offer condoms for free if you know where to look.

(Ignoring the fact that this is under attack for a moment...) we offer reproductive services to woman that need it.

So why the fuck is prep so different.

God forbid as a society we focus on the society as a whole instead of demonizing the choices that people make.

It's so simple to get condoms and wear them - or to just partake in a lower risk sexual activity. No one is forcing anyone to have risky sex: it's a choice, and just as we don't accept arguments that men's desires are so uncontrollable that they cannot be held accountable for rape, so we should be sceptical of arguments that a person cannot help themselves but participate in risky sex.

And Prep won't protect you against the myriad other horrible STDs apart from HIV/AIDs now will it?

>God forbid as a society we focus on the society as a whole instead of demonizing the choices that people make.

Well, if we're focusing on society as a whole, then it could be argued that your doctor is right for discouraging promiscuity, since STDs tend to affect society at large as they spread.

>So why the fuck is prep so different.

Because it's an expensive medication, it's the only effective "treatment" for HIV, and just like overprescription of antibiotics, excessive use of prep is leading to resistance. So, arguably, these personal choices have serious consequences for society.

And I think it's disingenuous to frame this as anti-LGBT and/or sex shaming. Yes, barring access to prep disproportionately affects gay men, but that's because gay men are the ones who predominantly need it, and their individual, ostensibly private sexual choices are impacting the rest of us.

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