Praise: Study Shows Increased Hope for those with HIV

Today is World AIDS Day, an appropriate time to look for hope.

President Obama, Secretary Clinton and others are taking a proactive stand today.

In mid-November there was a study by professors in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa released regarding different treatment regimens for fighting AIDS in South  Africa.  They conclude that there is hope for better outcomes, although no cure yet.

Strategic use of PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] and ART [antiretroviral treatment] could substantially and cost-effectively reduce HIV-1 transmission in HIV-1 serodiscordant couples. New and forthcoming data on the efficacy of PrEP, the cost of delivery of ART and PrEP, and couples behaviours and preferences will be critical for optimizing the use of antiretrovirals for HIV-1 prevention.

This is a vast improvement from the terror of the 1980s when I lost six friends in eighteen months. 

Praise: University of Georgia on Sex Education

For a long time there has been a push by Republicans for abstinence-only sex education in schools.  Early results were not promising, despite the common sense that if one abstains from sexual activity one will obviously avoid sexually transmitted diseases and creating children.  So, by 2009 it seemed that most schools and most states were moving toward more effective sex education.

A notable exception has been recent legislation in Wisconsin to return to abstinence-only sex education.  Mother Jones has an extensive article on the history of sex education in Wisconsin and the current legislation.

Wisconsin has done a fairly good job of holding down teen birth rates. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the state has 47 births per 1,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 19—seventh-lowest in the country. But teen pregnancy rates in some parts of the state, like Milwaukee, are much higher. More disturbingly, the rate of sexually transmitted infections has shot up rapidly. Between 1997 and 2007, the rate of infection for four common STIs increased 53 percent among Wisconsin teens, according to the Cap Times.

The law Republicans want to repeal "was seen as an incredible public health victory in the state," says Sara Finger, executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health. "We were finally in line with medical standards around human growth and development." Under the law, schools can still teach that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. But schools are also required to inform kids about condoms and birth control. If school districts do not want to provide sex education, the law requires them to let parents know that it's not part of the curriculum.

If Walker and the state GOP get their way, the new standards will be trashed, after just taking effect this school year. Schools would once again be able to teach abstinence-only sex ed.

Repealing the Healthy Youth Act fits into the "extreme pro-life agenda" that Walker and allies in the Statehouse have been pushing all year, Finger says. Pro-Life Wisconsin lists repealing the "sexualization of our children" as a top legislative priority for this year. "Government-funded birth control, whether provided directly or promoted educationally, encourages sexual promiscuity and with it a host of social pathologies including underage pregnancies, chemical and surgical abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases," the group argues.

This was news in early November.  Late November finds a new scientific study, Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates:  Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S., by Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall and David W. Hall, both professors at the University of Georgia.  Quoting from the abstract.

Using the most recent national data (2005) from all U.S. states with information on sex education laws or policies (N = 48), we show that increasing emphasis on abstinence education is positively correlated with teenage pregnancy and birth rates. This trend remains significant after accounting for socioeconomic status, teen educational attainment, ethnic composition of the teen population, and availability of Medicaid waivers for family planning services in each state. These data show clearly that abstinence-only education as a state policy is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancy and may actually be contributing to the high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S.

In March 2011, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Barbara Lee of California, both Democrats, introduced the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act in their respective houses.  Sadly, the bill has gone nowhere so far.

Education should be based on science and on results, not on hopeful thoughts and religious dogma.  Kudos to the University of Georgia for producing the study of the data.  Also to Mr. Lautenberg and Ms. Lee.  Mr. Walker on the other hand appears to be making every mistake he can, which may explain part of the extremes his party is going to in order to avoid his recall.

Guest Post: Will gay students be 'collateral damage' to the cause of 'religious liberty?'

This is reblogged with the kind permission of the author, Black Tsunami of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

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The lgbtq community would do well for itself to pay attention to two lawsuits fueled by religious right organizations. From an article in today's Augusta Chronicle:

An attorney for a graduate school counseling student told federal judges in Atlanta on Tuesday that the student’s First Amendment rights were violated when professors at Augusta State University sought to punish her for her biblical views on gay rights.

ASU put Jennifer Keeton on academic probation for saying it would be hard for her to work with gay clients, and threatened to expel her unless she attended events such as Augusta’s gay pride parade, Keeton’s attorney Jeff Shafer told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Keeton initially sued ASU  when she was expelled from its graduate student program because she refused to take part in a mediation program. It required her to read material about counseling gays and increase her exposure to the gay community. The mediation program was set up after Keeton said that she would tell gay potential clients that their orientation was wrong and then try to help them "change" their sexual orientation.

Her lawsuit was struck down by U.S. District Judge Randal Hall last year. Hall said that the university had every right to set requirements for students. Hall also said that Keeton provided no proof that she was discriminated against because of her religious faith. According to The Augusta Chronicle in an article at the time:

In an Aug. 11 hearing, ASU professors testified that the plan was not a punishment for voicing her beliefs, but a tool to teach Keeton how to counsel clients while not imposing her views.

"All three professors testified that they never told (Keeton) that she was required to change her religious beliefs in order to stay in the counseling program," Hall wrote.

He noted that Keeton did not testify at the hearing nor present any witnesses in support of her motion.

Hall said Keeton's unwillingness to adhere to the school's viewpoint-neutral code of ethics set by the American Counseling Association constitutes a refusal to complete the curriculum.

Keeton is now appealing this ruling. Today's article goes on to say that she allegedly told other students that she was interested in practicing "conversion therapy," or therapy which claims to change someone's sexual orientation. It also said that there was some concern that since Keeton was scheduled to practice in middle and high schools as a part of her degree program, her views could pose problems to students.

Keeton's case is very similar to that of Julea Ward, who was removed from Eastern Michigan University's counseling program in 2009 because she did not want to counsel to gays for the same reason as Keeton. She is also studying to be a guidance counselor. She sued EMU but lost last year for the same reason as Keeton. Her case is also being appealed.

The counseling programs by Eastern Michigan University and Augusta State University are guided by a code of ethics by the American Counseling Association. It is this code which both universities say are at odds with  Keeton and Ward. It forbids counselors from discriminating in their practices or imposing their view on potential clients.

Interestingly enough, the same anti-gay organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, is handling both Keeton and Ward's case. David Kaplan,the chief professional officer for the ACA, had this to say about the Alliance Defense Fund:

"The driving force behind this is the Alliance Defense Fund. They are specifically looking for legal cases, not just in counseling, to promote their agenda"

In both the Keeton and Ward case, it is being demanded that the university counseling programs in question give allowances based on someone's religious beliefs, even though these allowances would be against the code of ethics which govern these programs.

What's more, these are cases in which both defendants have expressed a desire to be school guidance counselors.

It leaves me asking one question.

If universities can be successfully sued by individuals who don't want to learn about counseling to gays on the grounds of "religious beliefs,"  what would stop middle and high schools from being sued by individuals who may not be hired if they state that they will not counsel gay students on those same grounds?

Where would that leave the lgbtq students who would undoubtedly be collateral damage to this supposed adherence to "religious liberty?"

19 December 2011, FollowUp 1.

FollowUp 6: Republican Denial of Climate Change

NJSpotlight reports on a talk yesterday at Rutgers University by former New Jersey Governors Thomas Kean (a Republican) and James Florio (a Democrat).

Former Republican Gov. Thomas Kean is such a believer in climate change that he is calling on informed citizens to "confront those who don't believe in the science of it for the ignorant people that they are." Speaking before a Rutgers University conference in New Brunswick Tuesday, Kean criticized fellow Republican Gov. Chris Christie, saying it was a "shame" that he pulled New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

While Governor Christie does not deny climate change, he is unwilling to allow the cost of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to stand.  So, the state of New Jersey is no longer working against climate change.

Former Gov. James Florio, however, said "we ought to be asking what it's going to cost if we don't do something."

A hotter, wetter New Jersey, with significant increases in ozone and an agricultural climate much like present-day South Carolina, is what is in store for the Garden State over the next 50 years, experts told attendees. Indeed, many of the state's traditional cash crops, notably cranberries, will not be able to flourish here in the future.

The state's agricultural sector is about, $1 billion, not counting related industries such as food processing, said Robin Leichenko of the Rutgers Climate and Environmental Change Initiative. But it accounts for 16 percent of the state's land use, and some of the country's highest per-acre farm productivity, she said.

The article goes on to discuss much more of New Jersey's economy as described by other Rutgers professors.  Good article.  It is also good to see that some Republicans, Mr. Kean for example, are not in denial of the science of climate change.  Would that the bulk of the Republican presidential contenders were nearly so wise.

1 October 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings posting.
10 October 2011, FollowUp 1.
11 October 2011, FollowUp 2.
17 October 2011, FollowUp 3.
21 October 2011, FollowUp 4.
27 October 2011, FollowUp 5.

29 January 2012, FollowUp 7.
15 February 2012, FollowUp 8.
18 February 2012, FollowUp 9.
2 March 2012, FollowUp 10.
11 March 2012, FollowUp 11.
4 June 2012, FollowUp 12.

Humor: Domestic Abuse

From Calamities of Nature today.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has all of the statistics.

While I suspect that domestic violence occurs within same sex households (one hopes same sex households are safer), I see no reason to not cheer lesbians.

Update:  Thinking about this a little more, I suspect that same sex household domestic violence is probably lower than opposite sex households.  The reason for my suspicion is that when two people are the same gender, there is less likely to be gender-based inequality in the relationship.  There can still be problems that lead to violence, but it becomes less likely.

This should also be a lesson from feminism.  Violence is rooted in inequality.  When the ideals of feminism are followed, there should be no gender based inequality.  It is difficult to hurt another person if they are seen as fully human and fully equal.  Bullying and violence have no role in relationships of equals.