ABSTRACT
A range of organizations has pointed out that the Bush administration has made vital public health decisions based, not on scientifically proven fact, but on ideology. Since this article first appeared in 2003, the Bush administration has continued to promote, and filter resources to, abstinence and abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Whether through HIV prevention or anti-violence programs, funds have been directed to discriminatory, anti-sex and ideologically driven efforts with significant human rights and public health implications, many of which have direct impact on women. Of particular concern is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which continues to channel a significant proportion of global HIV prevention funds to abstinence-only programs. From AIDS organizations to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), groups in the United States have argued that abstinence-only programs constitute a lethal form of censorship by withholding information on methods known to prevent HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) transmission.
