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Recent revelations about the extramarital indiscretions of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer have caused America to once again be swept into frenzied media debates about faithfulness and infidelity in marriages. Unfortunately, the consequences for Governor Spitzer are significant; resignation of his public office, public humiliation, and the potentially irreparable damage to his family relationships. In reality, most cheaters will not face as much public scrutiny, but similar slips in moral judgment can cause just as much emotional damage, and ruin the foundations of family structure.

Extramarital affairs are not a recent phenomenon. Early cultures created societal guidelines about matrimonial unions, with the onus of the burden being placed on women. Even then, having intimate relationships outside of marriage subjected one to extreme public humiliation, and in some cases, the end result was death. But, with the exception of a few strict cultures, less drastic penalties are now associated with cheating in a marriage. However, the repercussions of illegal liaisons can affect more than just the two people involved. With a rise in the transfer of sexually transmitted diseases, in particular AIDS and HIV, transgressors place not only themselves at risk, but also their marital partners.

According to a report by Family Planning Perspectives, STD's affect almost 12 million people annually, and nearly 50 million Americans may have already acquired some form of incurable sexually transmitted virus. In another study, it was determined that nearly half of those with STD's were infected during relationships that were purely sexual. Although 90% of those infected say that they were not married, it can be devastating for the ten percent who may have taken some form of STD home to their spouse.

The statistics concerning extramarital relationships are startling. The groundbreaking reports by Dr. Alfred Kinsey and his associates, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948)" and "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)", were the first comprehensive studies of the sexual conduct of married couples in the United States. Kinsey and his team reported that one third of American men had experienced some form of extramarital activity, and that one fifth of married women had engaged in extramarital sex by their forties. Subsequent studies indicate that the numbers for both men and women are now closer to fifty percent.

One of the most damaging effects of these trysts has been the significant

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