| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
March 6, 2009
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GAY MEN'S HEALTH CRISIS PRAISES CONGRESSMAN WEINER'S BILL TO PREVENT NEW HIV INFECTIONS
New York, NY — GMHC is encouraged by legislation Congressman Anthony Weiner introduced on March 5th to prevent the spread of HIV in the United States. Weiner's bill, the HIV Education and Prevention Act of 2009, would allow abstinence-only-until-marriage funds to be used for sex education that addresses abstinence along with contraception. This would roll back regressive, ideological-based polices begun in 1996 and reinforced throughout the Bush-Cheney Administration.
"This bill would re-instate sound, evidence-based policies in our nation's fight against HIV/AIDS. Congressman Weiner and the Obama Administration have shown a strong commitment to implement comprehensive sex education and substance abuse treatment in a concerted effort to prevent the further spread of HIV," stated Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men's Health Crisis.
Currently, only four percent of all federal dollars for HIV/AIDS services are dedicated to prevention. The HIV Education and Prevention Act would shift funding from failed abstinence-only-until-marriage policies. Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs promote regressive, sexist gender stereotypes; spread dangerous misinformation about the efficacy of contraception and how to prevent HIV infection; and demonstrate pervasive anti-gay bias and ignorance about people living with HIV/AIDS. As such, they are not only ineffective and a waste of public dollars, but are also harmful to young people.
The sexual health of young Americans has declined significantly over the past decade. Rates of sexually transmitted disease (STD), unwanted pregnancy, and HIV are up for young men and women in New York and nationwide. In New York City, new HIV infections are up among females 13 to 19 years old and gay and bisexual males ages 13 to 29. Four million American adolescents get a STD each year. One in four teenage females has an STD, as does one in two Black teenage females.
This legislation seeks to reverse these trends, and grant $25 million of federal funding over the next five years to implement comprehensive sex education in our nation's schools. GMHC supports an end to federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage.
Dr. Hill continued, "With the rates of new HIV infections on the rise, particularly among gay/bisexual men, communities of color, and young women, it is time the U.S. gives greater attention to proven prevention efforts."
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Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS. We provide prevention and care services to more than 15,000 men, women and families that are living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS in New York City, and advocate for scientific, evidence-based public health solutions for hundreds of thousands worldwide.
Our Mission: GMHC fights to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected.
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