WE ALL HAVE OUR LIMITS

U.S. Ends AIDS Funding in Africa, Asia (AP, 8/27/03)

The State Department has cut off funding for an AIDS program benefiting African and Asian refugees, saying it believes a group taking part in the program supports involuntary abortions and sterilization in China.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Wednesday funds were offered to six of seven groups that received money from the department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

But the consortium of groups turned down the funding after the department excluded the seventh group, Marie Stopes International.

"We offered this funding to six of them, in order to continue supporting the good work that they've done on prevention and response to HIV/AIDS in refugee settings,'' Reeker said. "It was the consortium's decision not to accept the funding.''

Marie Stopes International was excluded because of its partnership in China with the United Nations Population Fund, a group the Bush administration said last year had violated a 1985 law against supporting forced abortion or sterilization.

Driving to work today there was a car with three bumper stickers (VT plates, of course):

"John Kerry for President"

"I'm Pro-choice America"

"Never, never, never, never shake a baby"

It's an interesting case of line-drawing, especially since Senator Kerry supports partial-birth abortion. Can you shake them for the first few hours or days? Posted by Orrin Judd at August 27, 2003 6:47 PM