More Deadly LIes from the Bush Administration


The Bush Administration lied about "weapons of mass destruction," and those lies ultimately lead to thousands of deaths. Now it is engaging in another lie, also deadly (and one among many others). It is claiming -- against scientific evidence to the contrary -- that condoms do not prevent HIV/AIDS. And it is using that lie as justification for supporting "abstinence only" programs as AIDS prevention. It is a recipe for disaster. (Note: if you have problems accessing the "read more" link, go here.

From the New York Times editorial page:

Opposition to Condoms

Published: May 18, 2004

The Bush administration's enlightenment on AIDS treatment has not, alas, been matched in AIDS prevention programs. Spurred by the religious right, the administration and Congress have fenced off one-third of the nation's international AIDS prevention funds to be used for abstinence programs starting in 2006, even though such programs alone are insufficient.

The administration is using pseudoscience to justify its decisions. Randall Tobias, its AIDS coordinator, has said numerous times that condoms are not effective at preventing the spread of AIDS in the general population. He repeated this assertion while testifying in the House of Representatives in March, citing the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Mr. Tobias is wrong. The dean of the London School wrote to him to say that the school had never produced any such report, and that its research shows that condoms do work.

Mr. Tobias and others in the administration often cite Uganda as a place where AIDS transmission was reduced by teaching youth to be abstinent. But Ugandans — and more neutral researchers — say that condom use plays a big role. In Zambia and Brazil, condom use has also reduced AIDS transmission, but administration officials do not talk about these countries. They have removed information about condom use and references to the value of sex education and condom promotion from the Web sites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for International Development. Their benighted policies put millions at risk.

Posted: Tue - May 18, 2004 at 06:24 AM          

©