Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Dallas Morning News (12.22.08) - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Kevin Krause
For years, county health workers routinely handed out condoms and needle sterilization kits to at-risk persons. In 1995, however, a narrow majority of commissioners voted to end the practice, arguing that it encouraged illegal and immoral behavior. The court also approved regulations requiring county health programs to be abstinence-based.
At a recent meeting, Commissioner John Wiley Price expressed alarm at the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the county's black community. Local Hispanics have been hit hard as well, he noted. "I can't continue to join the ostrich head-in-the-sand group given the numbers," said Price, who voted against the ban in 1995.
Commissioner and County Judge Jim Foster agrees. The cost of a condom versus treating HIV is a key reason, he said. "For the cost of one dollar we can save a couple hundred thousand dollars in medical bills," he said.
Money for condoms is not the issue. The Texas Department of State Health Services provides free condoms to all county health departments. Zach Thompson, director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services, said the condoms are available in clinics for clients who request them.
But most people at risk for HIV and other STDs are not going to come to the county facility for condoms, said Raeline Nobles, executive director of the Dallas nonprofit AIDS Arms. "It's better to go in the communities that are high-risk because they may not come to you. Any barrier to receiving condoms needs to be eliminated," she said.
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