Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) wants to de-fund successful and promising abstinence programs

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) wants to de-fund successful and promising abstinence programs, and your Senators need to know that her scheme is unacceptable.

In 2003, in a bold effort to combat the international crisis of AIDS, President Bush committed $15 billion to fight the disease around the world through a program called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The results have been astounding, and have provided hope to millions of at-risk people around the world.

By the year 2007, approximately $4 billion will go to the Abstinence, Be Faithful and only then use of condoms (ABc) program which promotes abstinence as a key behavioral method of preventing the spread of AIDS. The program, modeled after methods used by faith-based organizations in the United States, has seen a dramatic decline in the transmission of AIDS in countries including Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.

Senator Feinstein wants to end that effort by offering an amendment to strip funding for Abstinence and Be Faithful programs from Foreign Operations appropriations. Your Senators must hear from you that attempts to de-fund successful AIDS prevention programs that teach abstinence will deny those most in need of the programs that have had the best results.

Help keep this vital funding. Contact your Senator today!

Take Action!

Please call your Senators and let them know that you support the ABc program which has led to lives being saved in Africa where AIDS continues to rage. Tell them to vote against amendments in foreign operations appropriations that would strip funding for abstinence education programs.


Senate Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. If you'd like to send an e-mail, simply enter your zip code into the box at your right. [A web-based version of this alert can be found at http://congress.cwfa.org/cwfa/issues/alert/?alertid=8895656 ]