Feb 03, 2006   | COMMENTS     

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gay rights advocates fear gay patients will be among those affected as legislatures in 18 states weigh measures to allow health care providers to refuse to offer treatments with which they disagree, the Washington Post reported. "This goes to the core of what it means to be an American," argued David Stevens of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. "Conscience is the most sacred of all property." Most of the measures focus on protecting pharmacists who do not want to offer the "morning after" pill or other forms of contraception. Other measures include broader language to allow doctors and others to refuse to provide any treatment to which they object, ranging from assisted reproduction to AIDS prevention that does not focus on abstinence, or treating gays, the Post reported. "I already get calls all the time from people who have been turned away by their doctors," said Jennifer C. Pizer of the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, who is representing a California lesbian whose doctor refused her artificial insemination. "This is a very grave concern."

Study finds different HIV drugs asssociated with fat loss
BOSTON - Anti-HIV treatment consisting of efavirenz (Sustiva) with tenofovir and FTC (Truvada) created significantly more fatty deposits on limbs than for those who took efavirenz with AZT and 3TC (Combivir), according to results of a study published Jan. 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan 19. The Gilead study also confirmed that Truvada was as effective as Combivir in treating HIV. Fat loss is a side-effect of antiretroviral therapy and can be difficult or impossible to reverse. Gilead is the manufacturer of Truvada.

China cuts estimates of total HIV cases
BEIJING (AP) - China revised down the number of people living in the country with the HIV virus, but international health agencies warned that with 70,000 new infections last year, there was no room for complacency. They also warned the virus was no longer restricted to drug users and those who sold blood, but had begun to spread quickly in the general population. By the end of 2005, China had an estimated 650,000 people infected with the HIV virus, 75,000 of whom had full-blown AIDS, according to the study by WHO, China's Ministry of Health and the U.N. AIDS agency. Bekedam said the new infection rate, roughly 200 cases a day, showed the situation in China was "more serious than we thought.'' The biggest challenge facing China will be removing the stigma of HIV infection that has prevented people from being tested or seeking treatment, Bekedam said. Free testing and counseling for those who seek it and free anti-retroviral treatment for the poor have been offered. However, people demanding better treatment and care are still often arrested or harassed by authorities.

Colombian town may make carrying condoms mandatory
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A western Colombian city councilmember wants to require everyone in town 14 or older to carry a condom to prevent pregnancy and disease, a proposal that is outraging local priests. William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said he will present a formal proposal to force all men and women — even those just visiting — to always carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could pay a fine of $180 or take a safe sex course, he said. "Sexual relations are going on constantly," Pena said. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day. It's not going to be there forever." Tulua has one of the highest rates of AIDS in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March, he said.

Suicide prevention effort in Colo. focuses on gays
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - An $8,000 grant from the state's Office of Suicide Prevention is enabling people from agencies that work with suicidal gay men, lesbians and transgendered people gay people to learn about how to help that population. The Suicide Prevention Partnership, a charity that runs a suicide hotline and provides education about suicide, held its first training session in January. One of the trainers, Lindsey Myers of the El Paso County Department of Health & Environment, said that it's hard to obtain solid data on the percentage of suicide attempts made by gay people. Myers told the Gazette, "People who go into the hospital for a suicide attempt, they don't check a box that says 'I'm gay."