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TechnoratiOn the other hand, other Christian groups strongly argue against removing PEPFAR’s emphasis on abstinence and fidelity when they say it has been working.
“Unfortunately, the very values that have made the program effective are under attack from leaders at home,” wrote Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, last week.
“When the PEPFAR comes up for reauthorization on February 28, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) – Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – will make every effort to strip the ABC model from the bill in favor of money for abortion providers and promoters,” he condemned.
“Berman and the Democratic leadership are plotting to turn the program into something that would help eliminate Africa's next generation,” Perkins accused. “Under Berman's proposal, PEPFAR could permit abortion services at taxpayer expense, as well as the removal of the Prostitution Pledge, which would give a U.S. stamp of approval on global sex trafficking and prostitution!”
Other Christian groups, such as Concerned Women for America and Focus on the Family Action, have also denounced attempts to amend PEPFAR to something they consider will “promote abortion and legalization of prostitution.”
First Lady Laura Bush has publicly spoken in support of PEPFAR’s abstinence programs.
"There are several ways in which we can reach young people," Bush said, while in Zambia last July during her African tour of countries receiving U.S. funds for HIV/AIDS and malaria relief programs, according to The Associated Press "One of the effective ways is abstinence ... it brings back dignity and self-responsibility to young people."
More than 33 million people worldwide have HIV, the virus which can lead to AIDS, according to the latest U.N. report. Over 2 million people have died of AIDS this year alone – including 330,000 children.
Every day, some 1,000 babies are born with HIV – 90 percent of which are babies born in Africa, according to UNAIDS. Half of all new HIV infections in the world occur in children and youth. In total, 2.5 million children under the age of 15 are infected in the world.
