By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-814949.mp3
Dallas, TX – Dallas County Commissioners have lifted a ban on CONDOM distribution by Health Department workers. KERA's BJ Austin says vote to abandon an abstinence only policy was 3-2.
Commissioner John Wiley Price was the only NO vote in 1995 with the Commissioners Court voted to ban the distribution of condoms by county health workers - and require abstinence education. He says Dallas was the only county in Texas to ban condom distribution, and had the highest HIV rate in 2006 and 2007.
Price: We understand that condoms are not the cure-all. We're simply saying that condoms should be in the tool kit.
Price says last year, Dallas County spent an overall 148 million dollars on healthcare for citizens. Commissioners Kenneth Mayfield and Mike Cantrell voted against lifting the condom ban.