Action Alert: Coburn Bill

AIDS Action Council, the National Association of People with AIDS, and many other AIDS and public health organizations have asked people to contact their Senators and Congressperson to oppose the "HIV Prevention Act of 1997," introduced by Representative Tom Coburn (Republican, Oklahoma).

This bill would force all states to end anonymous testing and report all people who test positive to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control; states that did not pass laws meeting the bill's requirements would lose Federal Medicaid funding. The bill would also allow medical professionals to refuse to treat persons who had not been tested for HIV.

On March 28 the National Governors' Association strongly opposed this legislation. Other groups opposed include the American Public Health Association, the National Minority AIDS Council, the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the American Nurses Association, and the American Psychological Association.

The Coburn Bill currently has 85 cosponsors -- 83 Republicans and 2 Democrats. If your Representative is one who has signed, it is especially important to urge him or her to take their name off.

For more information, contact Charles Debnam, National Association of People with AIDS, 202/898-0414 x103.