SOTU: Abstinence Policies Hamper AIDS Efforts
SOTU: Abstinence Policies Hamper AIDS Efforts
Bush said: “And our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people [in Africa]. We can bring healing and hope to many more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success.”
FACT — BUSH’S AIDS POLICIES DIVERT FUNDS TO FAILED ABSTINENCE-ONLY PROGRAMS: Bush’s policy states that one-third of money allocated for HIV prevention overseas go to abstinence-only programs. “In fact, a full two-thirds of the money for the prevention of the sexual spread of HIV goes to abstinence.” [American Prospect, 7/10/07]
FACT — BUSH’S ANTI-CONDOM STANCE ‘DOING DAMAGE TO AFRICA’: The Center for Disease Control states that latex condoms are “highly effective in preventing…sexual transmission of HIV.” Yet Bush’s ABC policy — Abstinence, Be Faithful, Condoms — relegates condom use to a last resort option. In 2005, the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa said, “There is no doubt in my mind that the condom crisis in Uganda is being driven by [US policies]. To impose a dogma-driven policy that is fundamentally flawed is doing damage to Africa.” [CDC, 10/20/06; The Observer, 7/11/04; The Guardian, 8/30/05]
FACT — GLOBAL GAG RULE FORCES ‘A CRUEL CHOICE’ ON FOREIGN NGOS: Bush’s “global gag rule” withholds U.S. aid from any organization that mentions abortion as an option in family planning. The report found that the “the leading providers of family planning” in 13 developing nations are “no longer receiving USAID contraceptives.” [Memo for the Administration of United States Agency for International Development, 1/22/01; Global Gag Rule Impact Project]
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The 3 words I want the next Prez to say as his/her first words after being sowrn in…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pmARREST THESE MEN.
Please, Bush didn’t care about the black population in New Orleans, now he wants us to believe that he cares about the black population in Africa.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:08 pmWhitehouse IS TAKING CALLS NOW.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:10 pm1-202-456-1111
“Please, Bush didn’t care about the black population in New Orleans, now he wants us to believe that he cares about the black population in Africa.
Comment by SamR — January 28, 2008 @ 10:08 pm”
How…un-American.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:00 pmNot only is this policy based on failed Abstinence only programs, the $30 Billion he proposes is not nearly enough. The $30 billion would significantly slow prevention efforts and would only treat 100,000 new people per year out of the millions who are desperately waiting for treatment.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:29 pmPhysicians for Human Rights is calling for $59 billion, for AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, nutrition, and other programs to improve global health.
30 billion. How generous.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:38 pmDon’t we spend that in a week in Iraq?
January 28th, 2008 at 11:47 pm“principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success.†Hmm is that new rhetoric for civilizing the savages. That’s all they needed those Africans simply didn’t have any morals thats why they were having sex and spreading HIV. Silly me I thought it was the millions of women that were forcibly raped. This policy is simply an extension of his failed domestic policies in the high schools. Would somebody please make this President take a damn geography, sociology, man even a sex education class and get a clue about how the world works. Looking at the world without judgement and contempt but empathy and understanding.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:27 amIt was interesting to me that the amount of money he wants to corral for this program is the same amount that Congress asked for for SCHIP–and Bush promptly used his VETO pen.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:50 amA shame H.W. didn’t use a condom!
January 29th, 2008 at 7:15 amI call you on the so-called 80% approval rating of the SOTUS and raise you: a NATIONAL poll on what Americans think of Bush and the country: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/. It’s title? “State of the Union Rated Poorly by 4 out of 5 Americans” Oh, in case you didn’t do the math: that’s 80 percent of Americans, nationally, who think the state of the union is doing poorly under bush.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:41 pmI’m afraid you’re missing some other gems that the administration has thrown up in the way of effective HIV prevention.
They include the Loyalty Oath, which undermines prevention in the commercial sex trade, for which the United States is not exactly a role model (see Shame on America’s Johns). Another gem is the prohibition on spending money on clean needles for injectors. We’ll give expensive, US-made pharmaceuticals to people once they are infected, but we won’t stop them getting infected in the first place. Go figure.
It’s easy (and quite correct) to bash the Bush administration for this folly. But remember that the law that authorised this spending was passed by a congress that contained an awful lot of Democratic congressfolks.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pmBush and the US put up more money for AIDS than all countries combined on earth. Doesn’t that mean anything to you wacko libs? Plus AIDS is NOT a leading killer of people in America and therefore we should focus on heart disease and cancer. More people die from heart disease in America in a week than do from AIDS all year. Most seem to forget such facts. And I’m sick and tired of all the LIBS who complain about “not enough spending overseas”. Not our problem. And yes…abstinance should be put forth as a solution because if you say that doesn’t work then you say we are a bunch of animals with no control over our actions. It is OK to be moral and have restraint(unlike Bill Clinton). The world is damn lucky they have President Bush dishing out endless money. Do we see Libs demanding that Canada, France, Iran, or any other country give more? Oh yeah…I forgot…AIDS doesn’t exist in Iran because they say so. That kind of thinking gets a pass. Wake up.
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 amMike
http://mtaricani.blogspot.com/