ACLU criticizes proposed changes to CDC guidelines on HIV materials (13433)

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday sent two letters to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to criticize proposed changes in the agency's guidelines for how HIV prevention materials funded by federal money are reviewed. The proposed changes, announced on June 16, would shift program and materials review responsibility from local boards made up of HIV experts and prevention specialists to panels created by state and local health officials. Critics of the proposed changes say the new review process could allow review panels to be stacked with political appointees with no experience in HIV prevention issues. It's possible that in some conservative regions the panels would be stacked with abstinence-only supporters and condom opponents who would reject any programs that distribute condoms to prevent HIV infections or even discuss their use.

The proposed guidelines also require all CDC-funded prevention programs to be approved by state and local health officials, giving them absolute veto power over all HIV prevention programs in their jurisdiction, even if the newly formed review panels approve their use. The CDC was seeking public comment on the proposed guideline revisions through Monday.

"The CDC has been operating under the same material guidelines for 12 years. Now, just months shy of the election, it is suggesting changes in the guidelines that could give elected officials the right to veto prevention materials and shut down HIV prevention organizations," said James Esseks, litigation director of the ACLU's AIDS Project. "These changes are nothing more than dirty politics that put lives at risk."

In its letters to the CDC, the ACLU states its opposition to the policy changes and urges the agency to "withdraw or substantially revise" the proposed changes. In particular, the ACLU requests that any guideline changes make it clear that the CDC will not require the teaching of "abstinence only until marriage" as the only method of HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention. "To be effective, [HIV prevention] messages must connect with their intended audiences. Let's face it--abstinence until marriage isn't going to go over very well with gay teens who can't marry," Esseks says.

The full text of the ACLU letters is available online at www.aclu.org and www.aclu.org/HIVAIDS. The CDC plans to publish final regulation changes by mid November.