Thursday, October 10, 2002

A story released today by the Chicago Free Press reports that the Bush administration's focus on abstinence as the primary means of slowing the spread of HIV among young people has led to a "witch hunt" against organizations that promote contraception.

"The administration is promoting a policy that ignores people across the board and is a threat to all Americans who need to know how to avoid contracting HIV," said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign. "We urge Bush to change course, so that more young people do not become needlessly infected."

Last week HRC joined a coalition pressuring U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to fulfill a promise he made in Barcelona this summer to promote a comprehensive and scientifically based HIV/AIDS prevention program.

Federal law requires that federally funded abstinence-only education programs teach that a "mutually faithful monogamous relationship in context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity," that "sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects." The law forbids information inconsistent with these teachings, including instruction on the effectiveness of condoms.

The administration has asked Congress to increase funding for abstinence-only programs to $135 million. In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed information about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV infection and a section called "programs that work" from its website.

Activists also expressed concern that the administration is targeting HIV/AIDS groups that promote safe sex rather than abstinence with federal audits.

Defending the investigations, Claude Allen, a deputy HHS secretary, told the Washington Post the administration is simply making sure tax dollars are properly spent.

Claude Allen, deputy HHS secretary defended the abstinence-only approach. "We believe young people across the board should abstain until marriage," he said. "Fidelity is the next-safest protection against contraction of disease."

Stachelberg said Allen's comments reflect a "dangerous shift" in prevention efforts.