Free the Condoms!

Personally, I think condoms should be free—or at least dirt cheap, and definitely covered as a type of health cost. I know that some gynecologists and clinics give them out for free, but with so many doctor’s offices distributing free samples of Claritin and other drugs, why don’t they all give out condoms? After all, not everyone needs allergy medication—but most people could use a condom sometime in their lives.  

And given the high teen pregnancy rates we face (the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates among the most developed countries), as well as the threats of not only STDS but actual cancer contracted by intercourse, it’s certainly in our best interest to make condoms readily available to youth. There is no real way to stop young people from having sex (aside from installing chastity belts or locking them up away in towers—and given the resourcefulness of a teen today, we all know that these aren’t even surefire ways to keep the ol’ hymen in tact, either).

So is it in our best interest to damn them to a fiery STD-infested hell, shaking our fists and shaming them even as most of us likely did what they are doing when we were their age? Or should we come to the conclusion that “Hey, condoms can help prevent pregnancy and life-threatening illnesses! Let’s give them condoms”?

I say the latter, and I’d go even further, saying that condoms should be readily available in school bathrooms. But given how unlikely that scenario would exist due to public outcry, the least we can do is make condoms readily available for purchase.

But lo and behold, the cities with the highest numbers of AIDS cases in the country—including Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston and Los Angels—seem to be the most difficult cities in which to buy condoms!

In fact, a recent research study found that CVS stores in these cities are prone to LOCK UP the condoms, making it even harder to buy them. This protocol requires the person to wait (and wait and wait) for an associate to come and unlock the case so he or she can buy them. And while that’s all well and good for beer and cigarettes (which actually aren’t always locked up to begin with), it’s not the best practice for an already-embarrassed adolescent who is trying to stay safe.

Should they lock up the band-aids and the Neosporin, too? How about the first aid kits? Because these are all potentially life-saving items that people should have easy access to.

Walgreens, the top competition for CVS, already knows this. They have a policy that states that condoms cannot be locked away from the public. So perhaps we should all just boycott CVS until they start embracing sexual health, too.

Meanwhile, you can sign this petition calling for CVS to wake up and smell the rubber. Knowing that close to 10 million new sexually transmitted infection cases annually are in young people ages 15-24, we can’t afford to let them go unprotected.