by Jakob Lint

Created on: July 04, 2010

Like with most other questions of this sort, the impulse reaction is Yes; Yes of course causing harm should be a crime, but of course, once again, the reasonable, rational answer is No. One shouldn’t penalize people who carry STIs (now the proper way to label STDs) for being irresponsible; them having the STI is punishment enough for their lack of responsibility. I will elaborate on that point further but first I would like to cover two important points in order to properly contextualize my argument. First, people who spread STIs by committing rape are considered criminals already and thus do not fit under this question, so they will not be considering in my argument. Second, if one contracts an STI due to a mishap at a hospital one will be compensated by the hospital and thus that case, as well, is not covered in the argument. Therefore we are left with those who spread STIs by means of sexual intercourse engaged in willingly by both, or more, parties.

The most important thing, concerning this question, is the implication that we should hold people accountable for a lack of responsibility. If we start doing that most of us would be found guilty and jailed for a long period of time. Thus an answer of Yes to this question is counterproductive to civilization. We need to have people who lack responsibility so that we may move towards a hopefully better future. If all of use were responsible people we would be too sensible to attempt anything that might cause harm despite the fact that it holds great potential for a more interesting future. That being said, we do need responsible people as well, so those of you who fancy yourself thus don’t go a changing, keep on fighting the good fight.   
                                        
That part of the argument may be too general, too broad to make sense to you under this question, so in order to make it simpler and easier to understand let me say this: If you engage in unprotected sex with a partner you’re not acquainted with you are taking a risk. If that partner happens to have an STI he/she didn’t mention that shouldn’t surprise you. Of course one should be responsible and tell their partner if they have an STI, whether it be dangerous to life or simply inconvenient but they can’t be held responsible for your bad decision. They did not force you to have sex, that was your choice.

So those who answered Yes to this question are claiming that others should be held accountable for their bad decisions and that is ridiculous. Also, it should be mentioned that we live in a culture where all STIs are a great taboo. This leads to a lack of information being distributed to the populace which causes ignorance and also great shame. Those who have STIs fear to let their potential partner know about them because they assume, and probably rightly so, that the partner will shun them and refuse to participate in intercourse, even if the intercourse may be engage in safely. So, they keep quiet and spread the STI.

In the end, the point I’m trying to make is that being irresponsible may lead to great things like two Nobel Prizes in physics if you’re Marie Curie, or to a bad case of genital herpes if you forget to practice safe sex. Further, holding others responsible for your lack of responsibility is not only ironic but also ludicrous and is obviously something responsible people don’t do.  
    

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