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 Family Planning for STDs, AIDS and - surprise! - Families! Not like we need a study to tell us that the schemes, methods and politically expedient machinations to "plan" conception are less effective than actual birth control, but some recent findings confound even the most cynical among us. Dr. Guenter Freundl, a German gynecological endocrinologist, compared a variety of natural methods for monitoring the menstrual cycle against scientific measures. The results? "Even the most accurate of the three systems tested was wrong at least half of the time. The worst one was wrong nearly three-quarters of the time," the study showed.  Encouraging abstinence is a Bush administration pet issue. A recent survey, however, reveals that 61% who had taken a pledge of abstinence had broken it within a year. The other 39% managed to abstain from intercourse and successfully avoided any chance of conception, but they engaged in oral sex, believing it isn't really sex. Okay, so no pregnancies, but what about STDs?Anecdotal evidence from a University of Wisconsin study showed 78 percent of new genital herpes cases could be linked to the herpes simplex virus type 1, which causes cold sores and typically accounts for about 30 percent of new genital herpes cases. The study further showed that infection from oral contact was more common in a younger population, those 16-21, than in older patients. Research also suggests that when those taking a pledge to be abstinent finally do have sex they are less likely to use condoms. The Vatican still refuses to condone condom use. Recently the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family told the BBC that condoms actually help spread AIDS. Such alarming - and alarmist - misinformation will only result in more AIDS casualties. Thank goodness there are some folks out there bucking the trend. Catholics for a Free Choice just rolled out an ad campaign in defiance of Vatican policy. With lines like "Abstinence has a high failure rate," and "cardinals fail more often than condoms," they'll not only infuriate the Pope, they may save some lives. Oh, and inadvertently prevent unwanted pregnancies. Extreme Body Modification or Pointless Exercise in Vanity? In a country where women inject poison into their foreheads, undergo major surgery to enhance their breast size and have their love handles sucked out with a modified Hoover, the most recent frontier is far more pedestrian. Foot surgery is the new nose job, as fashionable women strive for less pain with their style statement.  Two years ago, Simone Levitt had collagen injections in the pads of her feet, believing it would make walking in high heels more comfortable. Her toes have been numb ever since, a result of nerve damage suffered during surgery.After searing pain forced her to give up wearing high-heel, Sheree Reese told her doctor she'd do anything to wear stilettos again. Surgery to remove a bunion, a swelling of the big-toe joint, was less than a success, and now Ms. Reese says she may never again be able to go barefoot or wear anything but specially designed shoes. Those specially designed shoes most certainly won't approximate the current trend of pointy toes and towering heels, yet cautionary tales such as these don't seem to affect women who are having their toes cropped. The latest? According to many orthopedists and podiatrists, women are now risking permanent disability in pursuit of a sexier "toe cleavage," as the cleft between the big two and the adjacent toe is known to the fashion-conscious. "It's a scary trend," said Dr. Rock Positano, director of the non-operative foot and ankle service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. A statement condemning unnecessary cosmetic procedures will soon be issued by The American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society, says Rich Cantrall, its executive director. Dr. Glenn Gastwirth, executive director of The American Podiatric Medical Association, says they are likely to formally discourage medically unnecessary foot operations soon. The problem is that while a botched nose job or uneven breasts may be devastating, they won't limit your mobility, as surgically tampering with your primary source of transportation - your feet - might. But in a community where people surgically implant metal ball bearings under their skin, bifurcate their tongues and "train" their waists down to impossible circumferences, isn't this just one more body part to be modified?
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