Schwarzenegger Vetoes Condoms In Prison

Governor Schwarzenegger discussing a different angle on health prior to his political career.

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According to a press release from the Aids Health Foundation, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a measure that would have had the state support condoms in jail.

Bill 1334, submitted by state Assemblyperson Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda), would have provided a way for nonprofit organizations to distribute sexual barrier protection devices. The Inmate and Community Public Health and Safety Act would have made it a requirement to do so. The measure was designed to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases that inmates could pass onto each other.

1334 already passed state legislature this September, passing 21 to 18 in the Senate floor. The bill was sponsored by several health organizations related to AIDS such as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), AIDS Project Los Angeles, and the Southern California HIV/AIDS Coalition. Despite the sponsorship, the governor rejected the bill but supported a pilot program to begin in one state prison.

Michael Weinstein, President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, was disappointed.

"While there will be benefits coming from the Governor's proposal to implement a pilot program in one state prison, there are still 32 other institutions in which inmates -- and subsequently their partners at home -- will be exposed to HIV unnecessarily. We cannot waste precious time creating pilot programs to prove the effectiveness of public health measures that have been effective for a quarter of a century."

Programs already exist in major cities across the United States such as Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, according to Joseph Terril, the Public Policy Coordinator for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. According to statistics provided by AHF, 69 % of all AIDS cases in California come from four major counties, who in turn make up host 37% of the parolees in California prisons. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Alameda counties also account for 72 percent of all HIV cases in California. HIV prevalence in prison is eight to 10 times larger than the general population.

Although the bill didn't make it across the governor's desk with approval, Terrill was still grateful for the sponsorship by Swanson. "

We thank Assembly Member Swanson for authoring and carrying AB 1334, but remain saddened by the Governor's veto of this potentially lifesaving bill."