Health Experts Rip Louisiana Attempt to End Distribution of Condoms

On Monday, state and national health experts expressed concern over an amendment to the state budget that could make Louisiana the first state to ban the use of public money to buy or distribute condoms. The House approved the amendment without debate, and the bill is now before the Senate Finance Committee.

Since 1993, Louisiana has distributed condoms to places like bars, liquor stores, motels, restaurants and barber shops.

Rep. Gary Beard (R-Baton Rouge), the amendment's sponsor, said the program's approximately $530,000 budget should instead be spent on prescription drugs for the elderly and that condoms should not be given out in schools. But a state health official said condoms from the program have never been handed out in Louisiana schools.

According to Sharon Howard, director of the state Office of Public Health (OPH), even though the amendment is a state-level measure, it could jeopardize the federal funds Louisiana has used to purchase condoms for the program. The state has some of the highest STD rates in the nation. OPH figures show Louisiana is first in gonorrhea case rates, second in chlamydia, and third in syphilis.

A study published in the journal of the American Public Health Association showed that in the first four years of the Louisiana program, the rate of new syphilis cases fell by 79 percent, while the rate of new gonorrhea cases dropped 35 percent in neighborhoods where the condoms were distributed.

If it passes, the amendment could end NO/AIDS Task Force's program, which distributes between 1 million and 2 million condoms a year, said Executive Director Noel Twilbeck. Having an STD such as syphilis or gonorrhea can make a person more susceptible to HIV. Twilbeck called the proposed bill "ridiculous."

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