Saturday, March 01, 2003

Remember the State of the Union address? The one with the well-crafted lie about Medicare and prescription drugs?

Yes, that one. Remember the announcement about the "huge" appropriation for helping people in Africa who have AIDS? It, too, appears to be another well-crafted lie. About a week ago, the Bush administration just happened to mention that it is considering a plan that would prohibit AIDS funding to foreign non-government organizations that do not separate their HIV/AIDS programs from family planning services that include abortion counseling or procedures. This information came from a State Department memo dated a few weeks after Bush's speech.

Since almost all of the AIDS-related organizations in Africa have integrated services, this means that they would either have to make drastic, harmful changes to their social service structures, or not receive any of the president's generosity. The changes they would have to make would not only cost them money, but would make it more difficult for women to receive services.

Familiar?

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