Selective Aide
16 February, 2003
Here’s another article about the denial of AIDS funds to organizations that support/talk about abortion as an option. Essentially, the current position states that if an organization has separate financial divisions for family planning and AIDS help, they can get the money. This way, the Bush can impose his own personal sense of morality while appearing to be “compassionate” at the same time. Of course, never mind that this compartmentalization demand is impractical.
But Planned Parenthood’s Sherk argued the policy is unworkable. Women, especially in poor countries, are unlikely to visit separate facilities to meet different health care needs. Additionally, the costs of setting up separate facilities would be prohibitive for cash-strapped nongovernmental organizations.
[Kirsten Sherk is the spokeswoman for international programs at Planned Parenthood.]
Why not just give the money to the UN-sponsored Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria? Oh yeah, because according to the Bush administration, anything not unilateral is bad.