How Can Trump Pledge to End HIV Transmissions When His Health Department is Robbing Researchers, Health Care Providers of Current Tools?
02.04.19 – With President Trump expected to pledge to end HIV transmissions by 2030 in his State of the Union address tomorrow, Equity Forward issued the following statement laying out the various ways Alex Azar’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is already undercutting efforts to prevent and cure HIV/AIDS.
These efforts include:
● Shutting down a study at the behest of the anti-abortion lobby that could potentially find a cure for HIV because the research relies on cells derived from fetal tissue;
● Undermining health centers in our nation’s family planning program — including Planned Parenthood — that test for and treat people with HIV;
● Attempting to dismantle comprehensive pregnancy prevention programs, including education on preventing HIV transmission; and
● Shifting millions of dollars from HIV programs to finance the Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane family separation policy.
“Ending HIV/AIDS transmissions is a laudable goal. But actions speak louder than words, and Trump’s health department under Alex Azar has made multiple deliberate moves that make it hard to believe it is actually serious about stopping HIV,” said Mary Alice Carter, Executive Director of Equity Forward.
“If we are to address HIV head-on, researchers and health care providers need access to all the tools available, not just those deemed acceptable by the anti-abortion lobby that seems to be running our nation’s health department.”
About Equity Forward
Equity Forward is a watchdog project that seeks to ensure transparency and accountability among anti-reproductive health groups and individuals. In addition to running HHSWatch.org, an extensive website with a library of research on nearly 50 political appointees at our nation's health department who are hostile to reproductive health care, Equity Forward also runs PutPeopleBeforePolitics.org, which calls on Secretary Azar not to cut nearly $100 million in lifesaving research at the behest of the anti-abortion lobby.
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