149 North Warren Street · Trenton,
New Jersey 08608
(609) 989-1120 · Fax (609) 989-1152
E-mail: info@njcathconf.com
Web:
www.njcathconf.com
Patrick
R. Brannigan
Executive Director
September 18, 2006
TO: Members of the Senate Health, Human
Services and Senior Citizens Committee
FROM: Marlene Laó-Collins, Associate Director
for Social Concerns
George V. Corwell, Ed.D., Associate
Director for Education
Position
Statement Concerning
S-494 An Act Establishing “Bloodborne Disease Harm
Reduction Act”
S-823 An Act to Permit Limited Pharmacy Sale of
Syringes and Needles
without a Prescription.
As
the AIDS crisis worsens and HIV continues to spread at alarming rates, the
urgency of society’s response to the crisis deepens. That response must have at its core the
belief that each individual should be treated as human beings of true worth and
dignity. The Catholic Bishops of New
Jersey urge all members of society to respond with compassion to those suffering
from this disease. Since HIV can be
transmitted through intravenous drug users (IDUs), we stress the need for more
drug treatment programs, educational programs in preventing HIV, and increased
efforts to eliminate the causes of addiction.
In attempting to find answers, however, we reject facile solutions to
complex problems.
The
New Jersey Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the State’s Catholic
Bishops, opposes the bills under consideration, S-494 that establishes
“Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act” that would allow municipalities to
establish needle exchange programs and S-823 that would permit limited pharmacy
sale of syringes and needles without a prescription, thus enabling substance
abusers to purchase this paraphernalia for illicit use. Such a response fails to treat people who are
addicted to drugs in a compassionate, dignified, and comprehensive manner. With the help of the state, this resolution will
have severe ramifications for the addict who will continue to abuse drugs, for
the addict’s family, and for society.
We
are particularly concerned with the harmful and possibly deadly consequences of
injection drug use on women who are pregnant, their babies in utero, and on
developing children. Drug abuse during
pregnancy is associated with a number of obstetric and neonatal problems. According to the United States Department of
Health and Human Services: “The issue of
drug-affected newborns has long been a concern in the United States. The most recent statistics indicate that in
1999, 5.5 percent of pregnant women used some illicit drug during pregnancy,
translating into approximately 221,000 babies that had the potential to be born
drug exposed” (National Institute of Drug Abuse 1999). In addition to the direct biological effects
of prenatal drug exposure on infants and developing children,
substance abuse
by parents brings an increased risk of their children becoming victims of
physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect.
Many drugs, including injection drugs, tend to be associated with
violent behaviors, and studies document that parents may become more abusive
toward their children under the influence of these drugs or when in withdrawal.
The
fetus exposed to the harmful effects of heroin injected by its mother or the
child who struggles to survive the violence of their drug-addicted parent will
continue to be victimized as long as the drug use continues. The only way to stop the abuse of children is
to stop the abuse of drugs. Providing
clean needles to addicts does neither.
The
Catholic Conference agrees that there is an imperative need for prompt action
to curtail spread of HIV/AIDS. We
reject, however, the conclusion that the state should provide needles and
syringes to injection drug users as a solution.
What is urgently needed is adequate funding for education, for drug
treatment and for essential community based social services to recovering
addicts and their families. This goal
will clearly require increased financial resources and is far more difficult to
accomplish politically and economically.
In spite of many obstacles, the lack of any effort to provide treatment
and/or counseling in this legislation is appalling.
The
distribution of sterile needles and syringes sends the message that intravenous
drug use can be made safe. But IDUs
mutilate and destroy their veins, introduce infection through contaminated
skin, inject substances which often contain lethal impurities, and risk death
from overdoses.
It
is important to see substance abuse as a disease – a disease, however, for
which there is treatment and hope for recovery.
As the United States Catholic Bishops stated in their pastoral letter,
“Called to Compassion and Responsibility: A Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis,”
“it should not be supposed that a
confirmed substance abuser
can simply stop. Often, drug or alcohol abuse points to an
underlying emotional illness of which it
is a symptom rather
than a cause. Those who suffer from substance abuse should
be referred to appropriate treatment
programs and should also
receive necessary mental health
counseling… While drug abuse
is a chronic and life-threatening
disease, addicts can be freed
from this form of enslavement.”
The
proponents’ argument that a needle exchange program will bring IDUs into
treatment programs has surface appeal.
Again, when we look at the facts, the argument falls apart. Those handing out needles to addicts can indeed
encourage treatment, but the fact is that low-income Americans who are substance
abusers face serious and sometimes insurmountable obstacles in obtaining
care. There is a shortage of inpatient
treatment slots available to addicts who are poor in New Jersey. Waiting lists for drug treatment programs can
extend weeks or months. As anyone
familiar with addiction knows, this delay often means the difference between
recovery and deeper dependence on drugs.
As one director in a Catholic Charities agency stressed, “There is
simply no place for many people to turn.”
A young man addicted to drugs and suicidal who came to this agency for
help had to be turned away and put on a waiting list for drug treatment. This lack of access to treatment also means
increased risks of addicts and their sexual partners contracting HIV/AIDS.
In
an attempt to eliminate the spread of HIV and save the life of the addict, the
provisions of the bill place other members of the community in harm’s way. In a capitalistic society, products follow
consumers. Thus, based on the
experiences of other needle exchange programs, one can be assured that dealers
will gather near needle exchange centers in order to attract the attention of
those engaging in the exchange process.
Members of the surrounding community, who may have taken great strides
to eliminate the presence of drug dealers on their streets, will now be faced
with an influx of both these individuals and their deadly product, all as a
result of well-intentioned legislators who have not adequately considered this
unintended consequence.
Needle
exchange programs contain potentially widespread, albeit unintentional, effects
on other members of the community. Would
our current law, which strongly enforces the “drug free school zones” within
1,000 feet of our schools, be modified to provide safe passage for those
attempting to participate in needle exchange programs? We are concerned that this will only increase
the risk of harm to our children in our neighborhoods and around our schools
allowing drug users or drug dealers to have in their possession anywhere (at a
park or within a Drug-Free School Zone) a syringe or needle. It is inconceivable to imagine that a drug
user or drug dealer who enters these zones will do so without the presence of
the drugs themselves. Many urban
residents have already joined together in unified efforts to discourage drug
dealers and users from transacting business on their streets. An extensive network of needle exchange
centers will encourage those individuals to return to these areas.
We
urge you not to release S-494 and S-823.
Representing the Archdiocese of
Newark, Diocese of Camden, Diocese of Metuchen,
Diocese of
Our Lady of Deliverance
Syriac Catholic Diocese