Title: Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student
Author: Mariam Grossman, M.D.
Publisher: Sentinel, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59-523045-4

Two weeks ago, I published a review of the book, Unprotected, and last week published the first half of a chapter-by-chapter summary. Here is the second half of the chapter summaries.

Chapter 4
Saving Patient Brian: The Legal Immunity of HIV

The PC message declares “anyone can get HIV,” therefore, it’s no big deal if you get it. Due to political activism, “HIV has had a special status among infectious diseases: voluntary and anonymous testing, no partner notification” (63).

About testing, an HIV brochure says, “This is an individual and very personal decision. A number of factors should be considered, including risk for infection as well as one’s ability to emotionally handle the potential positive result” (quoted on p. 54). A person’s feelings about being HIV positive trumps the risk of infecting his partners.

Dr. Grossman contrasts the legal protection afforded to HIV carriers with those who carry other infectious diseases that fall under the communicable disease laws. These laws protect the health of the general public, and doctors receive citations and fines if they fail to report one of these diseases. Anyone suspected of carrying an infectious disease does not have a choice under the law. They must comply with testing and treatment. But not HIV carriers.

Thus, political correctness protects the infected at the expense of the uninfected.

Chapter 5
Sophia’s Meltdown: More HIV Lies

Why does HIV receive exceptional attention? Dr. Grossman explains that in 1987, the CDC hired a Madison Avenue ad firm to create a PR campaign stating that anyone can get HIV/AIDS. Health officials knew this was a lie, but it brought money in for researching a treatment or cure.

As Dr. Grossman points out, not everyone has the same risk to contract HIV:

“HIV is more common in gays and drug addicts, not because it’s homophobic or racist, but because these groups have behaviors that put them at risk. It’s what you do, and whom you choose to do it with. Is that so complicated a point to get across? I guess it must be” (73).

The author continues to explain:

“So why is the myth still with us? Because it serves a purpose: it supports the preposterous notion that male and female are the same, and their unions equivalent. It’s a social agenda—don’t believe it….what spreads HIV is anal sex, shared needles, or a partner who does those things…. Isn’t it time we forgot the Left and the Right, and just told it like it is?” (77).

Chapter 6
Kelly’s Summer Vacation: Post-Abortion Trauma

The PC crowd claims that getting an abortion is no different from getting one’s tonsils removed. They tell women that Post-Abortion Syndrome doesn’t exist. Still, many women—and men—do experience regret and depression after an abortion.

As evidence, Dr. Grossman cites a study that said two years after an abortion,

  • 28 percent of women reported they experienced more harm than benefit from the procedure;
  • 19 percent would not make the same decision,
  • 20 percent suffered from depression
  • 1 percent had PTSD.

She also quotes a few conversation threads posted on afterabortion.com, an international website where women vent, cry, and support one another. If such post-abortion support groups as this exist, then it follows that women (and men) who feel the need for emotional support after an abortion also exist. For example,

“[o]ne woman, who was shocked at the lack of ‘emotional aftercare’ following her abortion, put it well: ‘When I got my abortion, I was really mad at the feminists. You gave me this choice—great! But then I’m on my own afterwards? What’s up with that?’ ” (91).

Asks Dr. Grossman,

“Will someone please explain to me, why does psychology, in its quest to identify and counsel every victim of possible child abuse, sexual harassment, or hurricanes….go berserk at the suggestion that maybe, maybe, some—not all, but some—women and men hurt for a long, long time after abortion, and they too need our help?” (101).

Her answer: “If some people hurt following abortion, if women can get PTSD and men mourn silently for years, then that means sometimes bad, like war or hurricanes” (101).

Chapter 7
Delia’s Dream: The Tricky STD Chlamydia and Fragile Fertility

The PC crowd says that the treatment for chlamydia is “simple and effective,” but this isn’t true for everyone.

In this chapter, Dr. Grossman describes the problems of treating chlamydia. About 80 percent of women lack symptoms, and a false negative test is possible. So, most don’t even know they carry the infection and therefore, don’t receive treatment. And they continue to spread the infection to others.

Even if they do get treatment, chlamydia may have already scarred the Fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility. Also, “one of the first proteins the embryo makes is a type of HSP, and it’s very similar to the chlamydial HSP” (112). The woman’s white blood cells recognize the embryonic HSP as chlamydial HSP and then they kill the embryo as if it was chlamydia bacteria.

The author goes on to explain that colleges help students plan for their future: grad school, foreign travel, career guidance, or finding a job. However, they fail to address a woman’s dream of being a mother and warning her that casual sex can damage her fertility.

“It makes me livid to realize that, due to misinformation, whitewashing, and lack of warning, young women may be blind to the risks they are taking. How many of them will never know pregnancy and motherhood, experiences central to a woman’s essence?” asks the author (118).

Chapter 8
Amanda’s Thirty-ninth Birthday: Fertility Has a Time Limit

The PC crowd tells women that having children will hinder their ability to build a career. Secure that first, then have children—but only if you want to.

The truth is that a woman’s fertility will not last forever. Many career women are childless because they waited too long to start a family.

From age 30 to age 40, a woman’s chance of conceiving drops by 75 percent. Also, women over 40 are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy. The baby has a high risk of being premature, is six times as likely to have genetic abnormalities, and is twice as likely to be stillborn.

Some may figure, “If I can’t get pregnant naturally, I can become pregnant through fertility treatments.” Don’t believe the advertising, says Dr. Grossman. The financial and emotional costs of infertility treatments are astronomical, and the success rate is very low.

Concerned, Dr. Grossman asks,

“So whose job is it … to remind Amanda [a graduate student] of the possible consequences of waiting too long? Well, to begin, how about the campus resources Amanda’s been visiting for years to help in sorting out and planning her life? For instance, campus counseling and career centers state that their mission is to promote normal emotional development. Is parenthood an important part of adult development?” (127).

Conclusion

At the end of the book, Dr. Mariam Grossman gives the psychology field her advice:

Instead of offering platitudes, tell the freshman or sophomore who has turned to you about oxytocin. Describe the hidden epidemic of STDs and the dangers of casual liaisons, even with latex. Suggest that she wait, and find intimacy she really wants, the kind that’s meaningful and lasting. Care for her according to her needs, without the false notions of modern ideology; be a real feminist.

But then again, maybe you want to keep your job. Lawrence Summers, the ex-president of Harvard, suggested that the minds of men and women may be different. That’s how he became ex-president (146).

Again, I highly recommend this book to anyone who works or has a relationship with young people.

Dear Readers, please let me know in the comments what you think of this information and about book summaries in general.