Most Dem
Candidates Favor Funding for Needle Exchanges

Most Democratic presidential candidates support lifting a ban on federal funding for needle exchange as a way to protect public health, according to a questionnaire released Wednesday by a coalition working to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

John Edwards, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and Joe Biden met a deadline to answer three questions posed by a group of central Iowa agencies, including the AIDS Project of Central Iowa and Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa.

The questions, sent to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, are part of the group's recognition of World AIDS Day 2007 on Saturday.

Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney declined to give responses, and there was no word from the other Republican and Democratic candidates. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign responded yes to the questions but was too late to be included in materials sent out by the coalition, said Becky Johnson of the AIDS Project of Central Iowa. (AP)