Demand that Democrats refuse to cave into the far right on HIV prevention

Published: March 7, 2008, 10:38 am

Congress will be voting next week on passing a new version of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This is a big deal, because while the old aid package has been pretty successful,* it doesn’t go far enough. There’s a whole bunch of kow-towing to crazy right wing anti-sex demands in the bill, which is no joke, because the more right wing nonsense gets stuck to the package, the more people die from AIDS that didn’t need to. Especially problematic is the refusal to put emphasis on prevention. The Democrats have a great opportunity to renew this, but with all these problems ironed out, saving a lot more lives. But it looks like they’re going to roll over on some key issues just to avoid a fight with the right wingers. The main issues are that the bill, as rewritten by the Democrats, while it does finally get past the abstinence-only nonsense, still has loopholes that allow organizations that discuss abortion options with patients

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