For Immediate Release:	February 29, 2008
For More Information:	Serra Sippel, Center for Health and Gender Equity, 301-270-1182 (o), 301- 768-7162 (m) Marcela Howell, Advocates for Youth, 202-419-3420 (o), 202-841-3292 (m)
Sponsor Organization:	Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) and Advocates for Youth
"Is it the official position of the U.S. Department of State that assisting women living with HIV to prevent pregnancy is contrary to PEPFAR's life-saving principles?"
(Washington, D.C.)-As the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs deliberated over legislation to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) this week, U.S. health and rights organizations objected to the State Department's opposition to a draft version of the bill regarding a provision that would have allowed PEPFAR funds to be used for family planning to prevent HIV transmission. "We are astounded by the State Department's position that providing family planning and reproductive health services to women living with HIV is 'contrary to PEPFAR's life saving principles,'" stated the letter, signed by Serra Sippel, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth and William Smith, vice president for public policy of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). The letter included a poignant quote from the Late Congressman Tom Lantos: "Do the people objecting to this provision want to stand in the way of a sick woman trying to avoid getting pregnant?" U.S. groups sent the letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in response to a letter sent from the Department of State to the late Congressman Tom Lantos earlier this month. The advocates' letter criticizes the Department of State's opposition to the integration of family planning and HIV prevention interventions on the basis that it is contrary to "life-saving principles." "Family planning is a critical service that saves women's lives in developing countries. As a global leader in providing family planning and reproductive health supplies worldwide, it seems hypocritical and politically motivated that the Department of State would take such a position," Sippel stated. "Shamefully, the US government is using women's health as a pawn in political games." The leaders stated: "Many women living with HIV want to have children, and they should receive the counseling, support and services necessary to realize their desires for childbearing. At the same time, the provisions in draft legislation would have ensured that women living with HIV who wish to delay or prevent pregnancy have access to contraceptives." In support of their letter, James Wagoner stated, "Public health takes a beating every time ideology subverts evidence-based prevention, and support for birth control is evidence-based prevention. The State Department position simply makes no sense." The groups concluded the letter with a request for a written response to the question: "Is it the official position of the U.S. Department of State that assisting women living with HIV to prevent pregnancy is contrary to PEPFAR's life-saving principles?" PEPFAR is set to expire in September of this year, and Congress is expected to debate reauthorization of the program in the coming months. ###