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AIDS Conference Boycott Broadens
Discriminatory US Immigration laws are the issue .
To attend. Or not to attend. That's the question. And for
thousands of people working to end the AIDS epidemic, the
update on Hamlet's question is a tough nut to crack.
The Sixth International Conference on AIDS is scheduled
to be held in San Francisco June 20-24. As of early February
nearly 5000 people had registered for the conference;
approximately 12,000 delegates and 2000 members of the
press are expected to attend.
But a number of private AIDS service organizations in
France, Canada, Great Britain and Scandinavia say they will
boycott the conference unless the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) changes its policy of not letting
HIV positive people into the country without first obtaining
a special waiver. The CDC is in the process of removing all
diseases except active tuberculosis from its immigration
exclusion list, but the HIV restriction is based on legislation
spearheaded by Sen. Jesse Helms in 1987.
Most recently French Health Minister Claude Evin has
added his name to the list. Evin said that "in the absence of
guarantees respecting individual liberties" he will not attend.
The U.S. immigration law, he said "stupidly discriminates"
against people with AIDS.
San Francisco's Shanti Project and the National
Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) are the two
major U.S. groups who have said they will not attend.
NAPWA has urged other American AIDS and gay rights
groups to join the boycott, but most have delayed a decision
hoping that INS will change its policies.
In January, the INS did end a requirement that State
Department officials stamp the passports of approved HTV
positive visitors, thus identifying them as carriers of the
virus.
But the change was not enough to satisfy Shanti,
NAPWA or the groups who are delaying a decision.
Sandy Thurman, Executive Director of AID Atlanta said,
"That's months away and I don't have time to think about it
right now. But I
think boycotting is
almost always iffy
because you leave
the decision making
up to people you
would probably
oppose were you
there. If you have to
choose between
what's politically
correct and what's
politically astute,
generally you'll do
better being astute."
Generally echo
ing Thurman's beliefs, the National AIDS Network, a D.C.
based organization which represents 650 local AIDS service
organizations, is urging its members to support the goal of
the boycott, while asking them to attend so that their views
will be heard.
Evett Bennett
AID Atlanta's Sandy Thurman
Kennedy-Hatch Plan Calls for AIDS "Disaster Relief"
Atlanta would get $4 million in first year
Washington—Senators Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have
proposed enactment of the Comprehensive
AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of
1990 which would make the hardest hit
metropolitan areas in the U.S. eligible for
$600 million in "AIDS disaster relief."
The CARE Act would give Health and
Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan
the authority to distribute the funds to the 13
cities that have reported more than 2000
cases of AIDS. Atlanta, 10th on that list with
2365 reported cases as of February 1, would
receive about $4 million in the first year of
the five year plan.
In a letter sent to solicit support for the
measure, Kennedy said, "...Indeed the death
toll of the unfolding AIDS tragedy is already
a hundred-fold greater than any natural disas
ter to strike our nation in this century. We
need to provide emergency support for insti
tutions and community based agencies car
ing for people with HIV disease."
Dr. June Osborne chair of the National
AIDS Commission testified for the bill and
echoed Kennedy's sentiments by saying,"-
...(the AIDS epidemic) has to be met with
the same mutual commitment to help each
other we show in times of earthquakes,
floods or other natural disasters."
Fifty percent of the money would be dis
tributed directly to local health departments
in the thirteen affected areas within 60 days
of the appropriation. It would go primarily to
hospitals, clinics, community health centers
and sub-acute care facilities that serve low-
income individuals.
The remainder of the funds would be
awarded to states within five months as
grants designed to develop comprehensive
plans for the organization and delivery of
HIV-related care.
The Kennedy-Hatch money comes just in
the nick of time for Atlanta agencies such as
AID Atlanta, Grady Memorial Hospital and
the Visiting Nurses Association which have
gotten a substantial portion of their recent
funding from a Robert Woods Johnson
Foundation Grant which will expire soon.
This is the second time in less than a
month that the normally conservative Hatch
has come down squarely in support of legis
lation that affects the gay and lesbian com
munity. Hatch was co-sponsor, along with
Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill), of the Hate Crimes
Statistics Act. Despite strong opposition
from Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) Hatch
worked hard to assure passage of the act
which was the first federal law ever to
include the words "sexual orientation."
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March 15,1990 • Southern Voice/19