Strings Attached
16 February, 2003
Ah, yes. How predictable. There are some strings attached to that AIDS money that Bush talked about in his state of the union address:
President Bush has decided to allow organizations that promote or perform abortions in poor countries to qualify under some circumstances for part of the $15 billion he has proposed to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, an administration official said Friday night.
[emphasis mine] So, just under some circumstances? If a woman is HIV positive and pregnant with a high probability that her child will be born HIV positive (because throughout her pregnancy she hasn’t been able to afford the drugs that would decrease those chances), she will be forced to bring her child into the world – a child that will present an even further financial burden to herself and the government and for whom she won’t be able to afford the drugs needed to extend his/her life. That just makes no sense to me.
