An excerpt from a letter published in the September 3 issue of Creative Loafing:
One program which would at least help to reduce the spread of HIV would be a clean-needle program — the distribution of unused, sterile syringes to anyone, no questions asked. As a former public health nurse, I know that these supplies are cheap and easy to obtain….I have had the onerous task of informing a 19-year-old girl that she was HIV positive, and I’m betting she was already well aware of its causes. For her it was (she said) a contaminated needle. Twenty-five cents or so from a local health department for a clean syringe could have spared her this devastating news. — Amy Keith, RN, Charlotte
Here’s my response (sent to Creative Loafing):
Ms. Keith makes a wonderful point about how easy it would be to help those who apparently can’t help themselves by providing a clean supply of needles to those who need them. I don’t mind a bit if she should choose to finance the undertaking. But tell me – if a clean needle is indeed only twenty-five cents or so, isn’t it realistic to expect people to make that investment themselves? I feel sorry for Ms. Keith’s 19-year-old girl infected with HIV. But that she wouldn’t spend the quarter it takes to, say, save her life, makes me wonder. If she doesn’t care enough to spend a quarter on herself, why should I?