In recognition of the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, campus-area video store, Four Star Video Heaven, is distributing 6,000 condoms to its patrons this month.
The giveaway is celebrating both Women's History Month and the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case, which, in the words of store owner Lisa Brennan, represents more than a woman's right to an abortion; it celebrates the connection between women's rights and gender equality.""
FSVH's free-condom promotion began in the 1990s, when original owner David Smith gave away thousands of condoms to raise awareness for AIDS. Smith moved to New York and sold the store to Lisa Brennan, who continues the tradition.
Brennan and FSVH General Manager Shawn Steen have partnered with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and the AIDS Network to advocate sex education and birth control awareness.
However, the giveaway has sparked some negative reactions in the community. FSVH lists the condom giveaway as one of the biggest controversies it has sparked in its 23 years of business.
""We're not going out there telling people to have sex, we're giving them the opportunity to be safe,"" Steen said.
""I can guarantee you that some of our customers probably take [condoms] and do not take them out and use them right away.""
Brennan said the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is more than twice that of many European countries which have comprehensive sex education and accessible contraceptive services. Sandy Torkilsen, manager of the feminist bookstore A Room of One's Own, said, ""Birth control is kind of a basic thing."" A 1970s graduate of UW-Madison, Torkilsen said she remembered when Wisconsin first began its women's history classes in the 1970s.
""It puts things in perspective,"" she said.
