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In what has been described as an outrageous decision and an ill thought out move, the Washington Board of Optometry has prohibited the dispensing of glasses and other eye wear freely to the poor in the state of Washington. Following recent disappointment to the cutting of social programs for the poor, this decision has been met with further anger amongst the community.
The furore centres around the Union Gospel Mission in Washington which has for a number of years dispensed glasses and eye wear, kindly donated to the organisation from those more fortunate, to the poor amongst the community who cannot afford to purchase required corrective lenses and glasses. The ability to gain access to second hand but fully functioning eye wear has been a God send to many who otherwise would have to go without.
The decision to implement this move comes from the boards interpretation of an obscure federal law which prohibits the distribution of used eye wear and glasses to those who could otherwise do without them. A statement from the WBO stated that they believe that the sanctioning of allocating second hand prescribed glasses invariably becomes "very problematic" and that in line with this cannot condone offering a "lower standard of care for the less fortunate."