Tasteless
Thank God for those individuals of high morals who are at this moment whipping themselves into a frenzy over Pharmac’s decision to fund different varieties of condom as well as the plain ones it has funded for years. Where would be without you?
Here’s the facts:
- – people have sex, young people have sex, people have sex with people they don’t know well or don’t intend to spend the rest of their lives with, they always have done and always will – you can get as moralistic as you like, it will still happen,
- – sex can lead to unwanted pregnancies and STDs,
- – unwanted pregnancies and STDs carry a cost to individuals and society,
- – the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STDs is by using a condom,
- – condoms are cheap, especially bought in bulk by the Government. The cost difference between plain and other types of condom is negligible, even at retail.
If providing different types of condom, including flavoured, free at family planning clinics and medical centres increases the chance that people will use them that’s a good thing – a cheap, effective way to prevent bad health outcomes. Prudes and old grumps can complain that this is all the decline of Western society but Pharmac actually has a serious job to do – it has to allocate limited resources in the best way to get the best health outcomes. It should do what works and if supplying different types of condoms works better than just providing plain ones, so be it.