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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.141200v1 99/6/985    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kelvin, E. A. Articles by Stein, Z. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kelvin, E. A. Articles by Stein, Z. A. Related Collections Health Policy HIV/AIDS History Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Persons

Elizabeth A. Kelvin, PhD, MPH, Raymond A. Smith, PhD, Joanne E. Mantell, PhD, MSPH and Zena A. Stein, MA, MBBCh

The authors are with the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York. Zena A. Stein is also with the G. H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University, New York.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Elizabeth A. Kelvin, PhD, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Dr, Unit 15, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: eak34{at}columbia.edu).

Legal barriers to conducting public health research on methods of protection for anal intercourse were lifted in the United States in 2003 when the US Supreme Court invalidated all state antisodomy laws. Although research funding has been available for the development of rectal microbicides, the female condom, which has already been approved for vaginal use, has not been evaluated for anal use.

Although there is no evidence that the female condom is safe for anal intercourse, it has already been taken up for off-label use by some men who have sex with men. This demonstrates the urgent need for more protection options for anal intercourse and, more immediately, the need to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the female condom for anal intercourse.