|
Bush AIDS Choices Faulted by Gay Doctors
Friday,
1 February 2002
http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/news/record.html?record=18803
WASHINGTON
-- The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association has expressed
strong reservations with several new appointees named by the
Bush administration to serve on the 35-member Presidential
Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Citing the appointment of
"abstinence only" former Oklahoma Republican Rep.
Tom Coburn as co-chair of the council, GLMA's Maureen O'Leary
said the appointments marked an auspicious beginning to a
reconfigured council.
"We
are heartened to see some great appointments here,"
O'Leary said. "We are pleased to see representatives from
the trenches of HIV/AIDS care. Unfortunately, what we also see
is a heavy influence of religious representation and people
whose policy is clearly an abstinence-only approach to
HIV/AIDS prevention."
O'Leary
also said the council is short on experience in several
critical areas. "What we would like to see are more
council members who are in the forefront of AIDS medicine. We
don't see expertise in vaccine and treatment research."
O'Leary
insisted her concern with Coburn being named as co-chair had
to do with his insistence on single approach to HIV prevention
and what might be described as ideological rigidity in
interpreting data.
"We
witnessed Rep. Coburn's disastrous comments about condoms and
his misreading of a CDC report on their effectiveness,"
O'Leary said, "and now, suddenly, he heads a very
important group given the responsibility to guide the federal
government on AIDS policy. His single-minded approach to
abstinence-only programs is unenlightened and very dangerous.
"Those
infected by HIV/AIDS represent diverse communities,"
O'Leary said. "One of GLMA's main priorities for 2002 is
to communicate to health professionals the importance of
cultural competency. Certainly, the council composition takes
care of the religious, and -- to some degree -- children's
advocates, but there is little depth in the LGBT
representation. And aside from a pharmaceutical company
representative, who will provide expertise on research
issues?"
On
Monday, the LGBT National Stonewall Democrats also criticized
Bush's appointments as "recklessly anti-gay and anti
safe-sex."
--
Editor
|
