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Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda
do you have an article for that? it seems a little far fetched that a life saving vaccine would be thrown away simply because of a few religious objections
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If only that were the case! You'd think all people would actively encourage the wide-spread deployment of potentially life-saving measures, but sadly, Anthony wasn't making his facts up. Under Bush, the US has sharply cut back on programs established by the Clinton administration to supply free condoms to poor African countries, an act which could dramatically curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/12/Pe...nder_Bus.shtml
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There is nothing magical about the way to stop a sexually transmitted killer. If a population is not going to abstain from sex - and even many Catholic priests can't seem to accomplish that feat - then protection against transmission is the best defense. But sub-Saharan Africa, home to 30-million of the world's 40-million HIV/AIDS sufferers, is suddenly facing a condom shortage. Family planning clinics from Ethiopia to Swaziland have had their American-donated supplies sharply reduced or cut off; and we can thank our president and his religious right politics for this.
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In short, thanks to the closure of medical clinics and reductions in supplies wrought by the policy, more Africans will contract HIV, more mothers will transmit it to their babies and more of the population will die. Those tend to be the calculations in places like Lesotho when a lifeline gets snatched back.
USAID is the single largest donor of condoms in the developing world, providing $75-million worth annually, or about a third of all donations. Yet, according to the PAI report, 16 poor countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East have been cut off from USAID condom shipments because their family planning groups are associated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which refuses to sign the antiabortion pledge.
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