Dispute over venereal disease holds up breast cancer bill

A dispute on Capitol Hill over condoms and<br>venereal disease is holding up a bill that would help women get treatment for cancer.<br> <br>The legislation would let Medicaid help uninsured women with

Thursday, October 14th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A dispute on Capitol Hill over condoms and
venereal disease is holding up a bill that would help women get treatment for cancer.

The legislation would let Medicaid help uninsured women with breast or cervical cancer.

It's being held up by an Oklahoma congressman who's an obstetrician.

Republican Tom Coburn is insisting the bill also address a common venereal disease called H-P-V.

About half of sexually active Americans are thought to have the virus, but most don't know it because there are no symptoms. And some strains of H-P-V cause cervical cancer.

Coburn wants the bill to mandate stepped-up monitoring of the virus. And he wants to require labels on condoms warning they don't
prevent transmission of H-P-V