Crow Wing County Board: Resident advocates for condoms

A rural Brainerd woman lobbied the Crow Wing County Board Tuesday to reinstate condom distribution by the county's public health department.

Amy LaValle Hansmann read a prepared statement during the open forum portion of the board's meeting, making the case that condom distribution is cost effective, a public health responsibility and should not be treated as a moral issue.

"Our community wants this, because they know that not only is it the right thing to do, but it's the cost effective thing to do," LaValle Hansmann said.

The distribution of condoms through Crow Wing County Community Services was halted in January, after county officials learned it was occurring in the first place. The county was distributing condoms and lubrication to a targeted population of those served through the family home visiting program, one of several items included in a postpartum packet.

The practice came to light in January when the Brainerd Dispatch sought confirmation of a claim made by Becky Twamley, executive director of WeARE Advocates for Reproductive Education, at a recent presentation. Twamley told a group at a League of Women Voters of the Brainerd Lakes Area meeting that WeARE received an estimated 3,000 condoms from Crow Wing County, "because they don't give them out at their offices."

County Administrator Tim Houle initially said he was unaware the county was in possession of condoms, although later confirmed the handoff to the nonprofit and the distribution practice. Houle said there is no policy supported by county board authorization that allowed employees of community services to distribute condoms.

"There is a governance issue here, so it's unfortunate that we've found ourselves in this situation," Houle said in February. "That is not expressing the opinions on the merits of doing so or not doing so, it is a commentary on the process."

LaValle Hansmann pointed to the effectiveness of condoms in preventing unwanted pregnancy and the spread of disease, and questioned the framing of the issue as one of governance.

"It should be self-evident to all of you that providing low-cost preventative measures will save our county money in the long run," she said. "If this truly is a governance issue, then it can be remedied quickly and easily. If it's a moral issue disguised as a governance issue, then I would submit that it's not the board's role to pass judgment on morality, especially when it comes to something as non-controversial as simply handing out condoms to people who need them."

In her statement, LaValle Hansmann wondered whether everything passing through the public health department requires board authorization.

"Our health department does a lot of good work in this community, and I imagine they go through quite a bit of Latex gloves, hand sanitizer and even coloring books to hand out at the county fair," LaValle Hansmann said. "Does every item require its own separate annual authorization?"

LaValle Hansmann pointed to Facebook comments on a Dispatch story covering the issue as a gauge of the community's feelings. She said 34 of 38 comments on the story were in favor of condom distribution by the county.

"Considering the comments section on this page tend to be mainly conservative in nature, this actually surprised me," LaValle Hansmann said. "And while it's not a scientific poll, I think it at least gives us a snapshot of where the community stands on this issue."

LaValle Hansmann told the board she intended to address Commissioner Paul Koering, the commissioner for the district where she lives, directly. But Koering was not present at Tuesday's meeting.

The three commissioners present-Chairman Doug Houge, Commissioner Paul Thiede and Commissioner Rosemary Franzen-did not respond to LaValle Hansmann and proceeded with the meeting agenda.

LaValle Hansmann told the Dispatch she intended to ask Koering to advocate for the issue. She added her position had the support of the Rev. Leslie Moughty of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Brainerd, who was unable to attend Tuesday's meeting.

In an emailed statement, Moughty said the denomination supports condom distribution for a number of reasons.

"Safer sexual behavior is a matter of life and death," Moughty wrote. "We affirm abstinence as a viable choice at all ages and also acknowledge it is not the only choice. We believe that sexuality is a gift from God to be shared responsibly. When people choose to engage in sex, we affirm safer sexual behavior."

After Tuesday's meeting, Houle reaffirmed the matter was a governance issue in his view.

"Over the course of my 23 years in the public sector, I have on more than one occasion, saw staff people that wanted to make a public policy decision if they didn't like what the elected board had done," Houle said. "And that's anti-democratic. It is a very strong value for me to make sure that the democratically elected board is who is setting policy."

Houle said items such as Latex gloves are considered supplies and do not require individual authorization.

"The board authorizes programs, not supplies," Houle said. "It's handing out things that are related to family planning activities. ... It's an identified program area."

LaValle Hansmann said although she's appeared in front of the school board to advocate for issues, this was the first time she'd addressed the county board.

"It's a starting point," she said. "I just wanted to make it known that this is not an issue that we are going to drop."