Administration lets HIV infected folk IN after 22 years
""We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat," he said at the White House. "If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it."

Obama said that lifting the ban is a "step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment. It's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives."

The United States, he said, is one of only a dozen countries that still bar the entry of people with HIV."

Sounds reasonable to me. It's not like no one in the US doesn't have AIDS. Who was it suppose to be protecting? Lots of people entered the US with AIDS/HIV, they didn't know they had it when they did. The law protected no one and just made it extremely difficult for those who were infected.

mick e was shocked to find that this moratorium was still in effect.

Anyone that still supports the Jesse Helms-penned bit of paranoia/gayphobe legislation needs to do a little personal soul-searching.

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For a long time you could not travel internationally without smallpox immunization certificate. Nobody had any problem with it. It is not just HIV. I don't think you can do it for any disease these days without somebody crying discrimination.

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The reason they "cry discrimination", is because it fricking is, you tool.

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It is amazing how Dakota can be on the wrong side of everything.

mick... uh. it's not discrimination. It's a health policy. Go back and read your epidemic prevention 101.
"Prevent movement of infection by preventing movement of the infected."

Or are you pulling the something-ist "AID is a Gay Disease" trigger here ? Hmmm ?

The real reason to abandon the policy is that it didn't help, and HIV is all over the world. So it's a moot point.

It's NOT a general health issue cbelt! Swine flu is a health issue since it can be transmitted by air born or skin contact to or with an unsuspecting person.

AIDS cannot be transmitted to anyone in that fashion.

Rg. I must respecetfully disagree with your first sentence. Regardless of the transmission method, the #1 disease prevention method is "Stay away from the sick people".

History of Medicine 101- most people do not realize that the original 'private hospitals' in Europe were primarily private hotels where healthy wealthy people could fort up during times of disease.

However.... I agree that the method of transmission does affect treatment and prevention once you get past rule #1. And in a post witch-doctor medical environment, public health policy generally takes that into consideration. It's nice to see the US abandon voodoo medical policies in this respect.

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cbelt3
Rg. I must respecetfully disagree with your first sentence. Regardless of the transmission method, the #1 disease prevention method is "Stay away from the sick people".

We've all violated that prevention method as we're all HERE.

Why the hell are you awake at this (forgive the phrase) ungodly hour? It's only 2 AM here but that brings up the question, what the hell am I doing here at this ungodly hour?

This "policy" was crafted out of Jesse Helm's warped belief that You could get AIDS from shaking someone's hand.

To defend this law is to defend unbridled, unapologetic ignorance rooted in hate.

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<Mr. Obama says that in overturning the ban, he is finishing a process begun by former President George W. Bush.>

That clueless dolt never finished anything, did he? Oh wait, Congress had something to do with that.

<The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 1987, added HIV/AIDS to the list of communicable diseases that disqualified a person from entering the United States.
The department tried to reverse the decision in 1991. But in 1993 Congress made HIV infection the only medical condition listed under immigration law as grounds for being denied entry.>

Odd how both chambers of the 103rd Congress were Democrat majorities under Wild Willy in 1993.

HIV is the only virus with human rights---Rush Limbaugh, many, many years ago.

He is way ahead of his time.

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cbelt3
Rg. I must respecetfully disagree with your first sentence. Regardless of the transmission method, the #1 disease prevention method is "Stay away from the sick people".

IF the law had been passed in 1981, maybe maybe maybe you'd have a point. But it was passed in 1987 and it was political not medical in nature.
[www.shafr.org]

A decade later Helms was still railing about AIDS. After he could no longer claim people were jeopardized by being in the proximity of its victims he decided to go with the "you deserve to die" philosophy instead.

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Sen. Jesse Helms says the government should spend less money on people with AIDS because they got sick as a result of "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct," The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Helms, who has often spoken of his disgust for homosexuals, spoke to the Times as the Senate considers whether to renew a federal program for the care and treatment of AIDS patients.

"We've got to have some common sense about a disease transmitted by people deliberately engaging in unnatural acts," Helms told the Times.

[www.aegis.com]

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2009 01:52PM by $tevie.