What did Mike Pence say about HIV and AIDS?
We immediately deployed health resources, but the truth was, is, HIV AIDS was being spread by people sharing needles and intravenous drug use," Pence said. "And the state of Indiana did not allow for providing a needle exchange to citizens.
Why is Mike Pence talking about ‘the disease’?
The gesture was partly politics—signaling the disease was important enough to require the vice president’s attention—but also built on a claim about Pence’s expertise as the former governor of Indiana.
Did Mike Pence support ‘gay conversion therapy’?
Mike Pence supported "gay conversion" therapy, including the use of electroshock therapy. Mike Pence once supported the use of federal funding to treat people "seeking to change their sexual behavior." Pence never stated that he supported the use of electric shocks or "gay conversion" therapy.
Did Indiana have an HIV outbreak during Governor Pence’s administration?
Speaking of an HIV outbreak in Indiana during his time as governor, says “we immediately deployed health resources.” A rural county in southeastern Indiana had a spike in HIV cases in 2014 and 2015. After noticing the spike, state officials began investigating the causes of the outbreak and identifying people who might have been infected.
What would happen if Pence did not handle a preventable outbreak of HIV in his home state?
If Pence could not handle a preventable outbreak of HIV in his home state, he may not be prepared to address the far larger and more complex challenge presented by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 as it spreads across the United States.
Why did Scott County close its HIV testing clinic?
It was hard, if not impossible, for people even to learn they were infected, because the only HIV testing provider in the area had been a Planned Parenthood clinic that closed because of state cuts supported by Pence. In November 2014, the first HIV infection in Scott County attributed to this outbreak was diagnosed.
How long is the Indiana syringe exchange program?
In early April, after consultations with Indiana State Department of Health, CDC and local law enforcement, Pence established a temporary syringe-exchange program for 30 days. Finally, in May 2015, Pence signed a bill that allowed counties in Indiana to apply for permission to establish syringe-exchange programs.
Why is it illegal to have a syringe without a prescription?
Criminalizing possession of syringes, even clean ones, without a prescription undermines efforts to slow transmission of HIV among injection drug users, and may actually encourage needle sharing. The damage was done: by 2017, a total of 215 cases of HIV infection had been attributed to the outbreak.
Did Indiana allow needle exchanges?
Pence described his response to the outbreak of HIV in Scott County: “the state of Indiana did not allow for providing a needle exchange to citizens. But the CDC came in and made a recommendation. And I declared a public health emergency. And made for 30 days a needle exchange available in the state of Indiana.
Is Indiana susceptible to HIV?
However, there was ample warning that southern Indiana might be susceptible to an outbreak of HIV among people who injected drugs. Already, in southern Indiana, there was evidence of prescription drug abuse, overdoses, and an outbreak of Hepatitis C virus among injection drug users. Experts proposed needle-exchange programs to prevent further ...
Did Pence support needle exchange?
Pence supported the federal ban on need le exchange and also his state’s prohibition; a Republican state legislator, Ed Clere, told a reporter that Pence’s staff members “made it clear that he was categorically opposed to syringe exchange, period.”.
Why is Mike Pence the top messenger?
Vice President Mike Pence has pointed to his response to health crises in Indiana as a reason why he’s now the Trump administration’s top messenger on the U.S. coronavirus response. But his response to an HIV outbreak in Indiana while he was governor is getting new attention.
How did Arizona move to identify cases?
The state moved fast to identify cases through screening and interviewing sex- and drug-sharing partners , said Beth Meyerson, a research professor at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women and co-director of Indiana University's Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention.
Pence slashed state health spending
Pence first laid the groundwork for Indiana’s HIV outbreak as a member of Congress back in 2011, when the House passed his amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. Then, in 2013, Pence’s first year as governor of Indiana, Scott County’s one Planned Parenthood closed in the wake of public health spending cuts.
Pence was dangerously wrong about needle exchanges
During that time, Pence dragged his feet. Although the outbreak was identified in late January of 2015, it took Pence until April of that year to allow a temporary needle exchange in Scott County. It was a big shift for the governor, who was morally opposed to needle exchanges and believed they promoted drug use.
How many people tested positive for H.I.V in 2014?
Five people tested positive for H.I.V. in the last seven weeks of 2014 in Scott County, which rarely saw a single new case in an entire year. Then in one week in mid-January 2015, eight people tested positive.
What did Perry Barger do with his needles?
Perry Barger walked into his home with containers of used needles he had collected from intravenous drug users. A needle exchange program in Scott County, Ind., helped halt a H.I.V. epidemic in the area.
Who was the transgender girl who died in conversion therapy?
President Obama called for an end of conversion therapy for minors in 2015 after a 17-year-old transgender girl, Leelah Alcorn, killed herself after leaving a suicide note that talked about her time in conversion therapy.
What is conversion therapy?
The phrases “conversion therapy” and “reparative therapy” refer to discredited psychotherapy methods that aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Spiritual efforts to accomplish the same goal are sometimes called “ex-gay ministry.”.
Which states have banned mental health professionals from changing sexual orientation?
State-licensed mental health professionals have been barred from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity in six states: California, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Oregon and Illinois, according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Should Congress support the Ryan White Care Act?
Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.
What is the psychological modalities to convert or repair homosexuality?
Psychotherapeutic modalities to convert or “repair” homosexuality are based on developmental theories whose scientific validity is questionable. Furthermore, anecdotal reports of “cures” are counterbalanced by anecdotal claims of psychological harm.
Should Congress support the Ryan White Care Act?
Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.
Did Mike Pence support electric shocks?
Rating. Mike Pence once supported the use of federal funding to treat people "seeking to change their sexual behavior.". Pence never stated that he supported the use of electric shocks or "gay conversion" therapy.
Who acknowledged there was a little bit of confusion with regard to the additional request?
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy acknowledged there was a "little bit of confusion" with regard to the additional request. Romney: 'What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President'.
Who said "We're going in the wrong direction"?
Fauci: 'We're going in the wrong direction'. Washington (CNN) Vice President Mike Pence , not President Donald Trump, helped facilitate the decision to mobilize members of the DC National Guard Wednesday when violence at the US Capitol building started to escalate, according to a source familiar with the move and public comments from top officials.
What was the initial agreement for the deployment?
As CNN reported previously, the initial agreement for the deployment agreed on Monday -- which was under Pentagon control for this mission -- to support local law enforcement limited their involvement to helping local law enforcement at traffic control points and in the subway.