Health News
2005-08-30
APLA urges
California lawmakers to pass prison condom bill
AIDS Project Los
Angeles is calling on the California senate to pass a
bill allowing for condom distribution in prisons
AIDS Project Los
Angeles is calling on the California senate to pass a
bill allowing for condom distribution in prisons before the
end of the current legislative session, set to end in
early September. The bill, AB 677, would allow
nonprofit groups and health agencies to distribute
condoms in the state’s prisons. The measure was
bogged down last week in the senate appropriations
committee, where it appears it will die unless
lawmakers seek a rules waiver to move it out of
committee.
Condoms are
already available in city jails in Los Angeles and San
Francisco and are distributed in jails in several other
states, including Mississippi. Most other Western
nations also make condoms available to prisoners to
protect themselves against HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases.
"Everyone knows
there is sex in prisons," said APLA executive director
Craig E. Thompson. "Condom distribution in prisons is a
commonsense public health measure that the legislature can
adopt to help stop the spread of AIDS. The legislature
needs to step up to the plate and pass this measure
now."
“If the
state senate fails to act, then the senators can only expect
to see—and to pay for—needless increases
in HIV infections across the state," Thompson said.
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