US House International AIDS Bill Demotes Abstinence Training

By C-FAM Staff

    (NEW YORK – C-FAM) The House International Relations Committee this week approved an AIDS bill that differs in significant ways from Bush administration positions, especially concerning the prominence of abstinence training for AIDS prevention. The bill has raised concerns among social conservatives that, as President Bush's $15 billion HIV/AIDS initiative for Africa takes shape on Capitol Hill, it will prove impossible to keep the legislation in line with the President's policy objectives to curb the epidemic.

     The Committee voted against an amendment to provide "prioritized funding for programs promoting abstinence over those that focus on condom use." The abstinence amendment, introduced by Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA), sought to ensure that abstinence and fidelity training would be a priority in at least some US-funded programs. Most HIV/AIDS programs now employ what is called an "ABC" program – Abstain, Be faithful, or use Condoms. However, critics contend that many of these programs, including those funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNAIDS, downplay abstinence and fidelity, and, instead, operate as condom distribution programs.

     The International Relations Committee also defeated a "conscience clause" amendment, again introduced by Rep. Pitts, which would have required the US government to "respect the views of faith-based organizations by not requiring such organizations to participate in any aspect of any assistance program if it violated their views as a matter of conscience." In other words, the amendment sought to protect religious groups, such as the Catholic Church, that might welcome US funding for abstinence and fidelity training, but deeply oppose condom distribution. If the amendment had passed, condom distribution would not have been a prerequisite for participation in the US program.

     The bill allocates the spending of up to $1 billion in fiscal year 2004 for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund, a clearinghouse for the distribution of healthcare funds, was called into being by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and is promoted by Ted Turner's UN Foundation. Social conservatives have criticized such a possibly large US donation to the Global Fund, since there would be no way to guarantee that the money would be used in compliance with Bush
administration policy guidelines.

     Finally, the House bill would allow US international AIDS funding from subsidizing groups that promote or perform abortions, or that provide needle-exchanges. It would also force President Bush to seek Senate approval for his choice to administer the AIDS initiative, thereby granting Senate Democrats significant leverage over the appointment.

     One portion of the bill welcomed by social conservatives concerns prostitution and sex trafficking. An amendment proposed by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) prohibits any funding to groups that do not explicitly oppose these practices. Every Democrat on the Committee voting against the amendment, but it passed on a party-line vote.

     No vote on this bill has yet been scheduled in the whole House.

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