Roll call: House tags 1/3 of Africa AIDS prevention money for abstinence

On May 1, by a vote of 220 -197, the House approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R.-Pa.) requiring 33% of AIDS prevention money sent to Africa under the currently pending bill H.R. 1298 be spent on abstinence education.

Conservatives were already furious with the Bush administration for failing to bar abortionists from cashing in on the $15 billion AIDS program that President Bush promised in his State of the Union Address. They are also upset that Bush failed to demand a bill that focuses exclusively on teaching abstinence-the only medically effective way to prevent the spread of AIDS.

As matters stand, American taxpayers will now be forced to buy condoms for promiscuous young people living on the other side of the globe.

As a concession to social conservatives, Pitts offered this amendment. Even so, he was almost apologetic.

The 33% minimum, he said, does not apply to all of the money in the bill, he said. "That is just prevention funds, and one-third of those."

"Abstinence works," Pitts said. He described the AIDS program in Uganda, which focuses primarily on abstinence, and the amazing results it has had on the spread of AIDS. "This focus on abstinence first lowered HIV infection rates from 21% in 1991 to 6% in 2000," he said. He added that the program has had a stunning effect on the behavior of young people in general. "In Uganda the proportion of young males age 15 to 24 reporting premarital sex decreased from 60% percent in 1989 to 23% in 1995. For females, the decline was 53% to 16%. The program actually changed the behavior in women and men, a fact I hope my colleagues take seriously."

He also noted that Kenya-where condom use has been encouraged instead of abstinence-has experienced "huge increases in HIV prevalence rates."

Rep. Tom Lantos (D.-Calif.) denounced the amendment with vigor disputing Pitts' facts, preferring his own claims instead.

"Some members of Congress attribute the dramatic success of Uganda's HIV/AIDS prevention program solely to abstinence and marital fidelity programs," he said. However, he added, the real reason for success there against AIDS has been due to condom use. "Ugandans also use an average of 80 million condoms per year, and that figure is increasing."

It is very doubtful that Lantos or anyone else has ever counted the number of condoms used. But it is even less credible that he actually believes, as he went on to say on the House floor, that condoms are "a medically proven way to stop the transmission of HIV."

Ultimately, the amendment succeeded, with social conservatives in both parties putting it over the top.

A "yes" vote was a vote for the Pitts amendment, to require that at least 33% of AIDS prevention money that the U.S. sends to Africa be used to promote abstinence. A "no" vote was a vote against the amendment.

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. May 12, 2003
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