Pope should be charged in International Court for HIV/AIDS policies

Pope should be charged in International Court for HIV/AIDS policies
By: Aaron M. Laxton, HIV-Infected Queer, Activist & Blogger

Child-sex abuse scandals have without doubt tarnished the Catholic church's reputation but are these cover-ups the only crimes that have been enabled by the Vatican? Recently the church's one billion faithful were shocked at the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's abdication from power, the first in over 600 years. Although the immediate word from the Vatican was that the announcement came as a result of health issues of the Pontiff, stories after the fact paint a picture of a man, and a church, scrambling to protect against charges for crimes against humanity. It is my position however that enabling child molestors was only one of the major crimes that should be answered for. There is one other crime against humanity that has been perpetuated by the Vatican that deserves equal attention and a zeal to prosecute; the consistent misinformation regarding the use of condoms to protect against HIV/AIDS without doubt has led to countless exposures and subsequent infections not only today but during the previous thirty-two years.

Just as a leader of a country would face charges of genocide for killing his own people, so too should the Pope face charges. The Vatican, which is the worlds richiest country per capita, enjoys unprecendented luxuries as a result of the power. Additionally the deeply-rooted beliefs of the believers create a situation in which church members are placed in a no-win situation that pits faith against practical health prevention practices that are known to greatly reduce the exposure and contraction of HIV. Believers can be swayed towards or away from any particular agenda that the Catholic Church. The church and it's leadership would never place people in harmful situations that are known to cause harm such as placing child-molestor priests into parishes with children... Oh wait, that is exactly what they did!

During the plague era rather than embracing the best science that was coming to light, the Catholic church embraced a policy of "no contraceptives". Those who would choose to use condoms were not simply breaking a rule, they were placing their souls in danger of eternal damnation since the Pope speaks with a Heavenly-authority.

With great ability comes great responsibity; it is not only appropriate but also ethically responsible that the world hold the Vatican accountable? If people were murdered as a result of doctrines perpetuated  by the church then without doubt the public would decry the church's failure to protect its congregants. By condemning the use of condoms and safer-sex practices the church is guilty of murder! As such, the church as led by the Pope should be brought to face charges for crimes against humanity as a result of the needless exposure and infection to HIV/AIDS through the teaching, support and furtherance of church law and policies. The abdication of Pope Benedict XVI does nothing to change the dangerous teachings of the catholic church regarding the use of condoms unless the church as a whole demands that the doctrine is changed.

My Letter to President Obama and Congress Regarding HIV/AIDS Funding Cuts

Dear President Obama & Members of Congress,

My name is Aaron Laxton and I am one of approximately 1.2 million Americans that are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. I work full-time as a case manager helping homeless veterans reenter society. I pay all of my taxes, am a law abiding citizen and a veteran of the United States Army; I believe in the spirit of democracy however that spirit is breaking. It is breaking as a result of Washington politics that refuses to come together in any meaningful fashion in order to avoid sequestration. As a result of your inability and unwillingness to work together the citizens must deal with the subsequent consequences. Patients who are living with HIV/AIDS cannot and will not tolerate Washington agendas, personal egos and a general inability to work together, slowly kill us through balancing the budget on the backs of AIDS patients.

Up to 16,000 fewer patients, including me will have access to life saving HIV medications. It is these medications that we depend on to keep us alive. In my particular case, although I have insurance through my employer, HIV is considered a “Pre-existing Condition” and will not be covered until September 2013.

I was diagnosed with HIV on June 6, 2011 however if sequestration occurs approximately 650,000 fewer HIV tests could be conducted by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) State grantees, which could result of increased future HIV transmissions, deaths from HIV, and costs in health care. It is estimated that an additional 800 individuals will contract HIV due to reductions in the availability of HIV tests and prevention.  

Sequestration is tantamount to murder since withholding lifesaving medications and treatments will have reprehensible and catastrophic affects for those who are infected with HIV.  Additionally for all of the strides that we have made during the past 31 years, the potential exists that funding cuts will delay innovative treatments as well as a cure for HIV. The National Institute of Health will have to halt, crucial and life-saving research that will squander enormous scientific opportunities including the AIDS vaccine and other cure research.

Finally the FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) would face delays in translating new science and technology into regulatory policy and decision-making, resulting in delays in new drug approvals. As a consequence of the automatic budget-cuts implemented, the FDA will also be forced to reduce operational support for meeting performance goals, such as the recently negotiated user fee goals on new innovative prescription drugs and medical devices.

My life is truly in your hands and without intervention the reality exists that I will soon be forced to make choices regarding how I will the medications that will keep me healthy and alive. I urge President Obama and the Congress to work together in order to avoid sequestration. If no compromise can be reached then the blood of Americans dying as a result of AIDS will be on your hands.

Aaron M. Laxton
HIV-Infected Queer, Activist and Blogger

Sequestration: Implications for the HIV/AIDS Community

Sequestration: Implications for the HIV/AIDS Community

By: Aaron M. Laxton, HIV-Infected Queer Activist and Blogger
aaronlaxton@gmail.com

Sensationalized terms such as “Fiscal Cliff”, “Sequestration” and “Debt Ceiling” have by now become a daily phrase for most Americans. Most citizens, and economists for that matter, will tell you that they have no clear understanding of precisely what it will mean. There is one clear thing that we know however, sequestration will cause instant reductions to the National HIV/AIDS budget by an estimated $659 million in the form of automatic budget cuts.

The federal government hit the debt ceiling back in August 2011. A number of lawmakers said they would not vote to raise the debt ceiling, and instead argued that the ethical thing to do was to make deep cuts in federal spending. Failing to raise the debt ceiling, however, would have prevented the Treasury from making interest payments on the government’s accumulated debt, and thus would have forced the U.S. Treasury to default on its loans.  Lawmakers ultimately did agree to raise the debt ceiling, and that agreement came in the form of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Budget Control Act mandated $917 billion in cuts to military and non-military discretionary spending over 10 years, and formed a 12-member committee made up of lawmakers from both parties drawn from both the House and Senate. That group of lawmakers, nicknamed the super committee, was tasked with devising a plan for at least $1.2 trillion in additional deficit reduction over the coming decade.

But the super committee did not come up with a plan for $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. According to the Budget Control Act, its failure to do so triggers $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts – sequestration. Those cuts were originally scheduled to begin in January 2013, though they’ve been delayed until March. Under the current agreement, sequestration is now delayed until March 1 when the automatic spending cuts will occur if no further agreement is reached. This deadline will also approximately coincide with Treasury Department estimates of when the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling and slightly precede the March 27 expiration of the Continuing Resolution (CR). Below is a snap-shot of what those living with HIV/AIDS can anticipate if no deal is reached to thwart sequestration.

Treatment and Prevention

·        AIDS and HIV treatment and prevention – Cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program could result in 7,400 fewer patients having access to life saving HIV medications. And approximately 424,000 fewer HIV tests could be conducted by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) State grantees, which could result in increased future HIV transmissions, deaths from HIV, and costs in health care.

·        Approximately 800 additional individuals would contract HIV due to reduction in the

availability of HIV tests and prevention. This would cost the United States $250      million,since every HIV infection costs more than $300,000 in health care costs.

 

·        More than 650,000 people would not be tested for HIV and more than 12,000 people would lose access to life-saving AIDS drugs;

 

·        Should sequestration go into effect on January 2, 2013, federally funded sex education programs would face significant challenges in addressing the critical HIV, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and pregnancy prevention needs of our nation’s youth—thus impacting the future health and wellbeing of our country.

 

·        15,708 People will lose access to crucial life-saving drugs.

 

·        $65.2 million in HIV prevention services will be cut.

 

 

Research and Innovation

“Sequestration will undermine everything we’ve done to accomplish the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) goals of reducing HIV incidence and death,” according to Chris Collins, Vice President and Director of Public Policy at amfAR. “Budget cuts through sequestration would bring crucial life-saving research at the National Institute of Health to a halt, squandering enormous scientific opportunities including AIDS vaccine and cure research.

•         NIH research – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be forced to delay or halt vital scientific projects and make hundreds of fewer research awards. Since each research award supports up to seven research positions, several thousand personnel could lose their jobs. Many projects would be difficult to pursue at reduced levels and would need to be cancelled, putting prior year investments at risk. These cuts would delay progress on the prevention of debilitating chronic conditions that are costly to society and delay development of more effective treatments for common and rare diseases affecting millions of Americans.

•         460 AIDS Research grants will be eliminated

•         NSF research – The National Science Foundation (NSF) would issue nearly 1,000 fewer research grants and awards, impacting an estimated 12,000 scientists and students and curtailing critical scientific research.

•         New drug approvals – The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) would face delays in translating new science and technology into regulatory policy and decision-making, resulting in delays in new drug approvals. The FDA would likely also need to reduce operational support for meeting review performance goals, such as the recently negotiated user fee goals on new innovative prescription drugs and medical devices.

Housing

·        5,000 households will lose housing support.

·        Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (August 2012)

·        CHCDF estimates that sequestration would negatively affect more than 440,000 households and an additional 1.1 million people by decreasing affordable housing opportunities and community development services. These households and individuals are low and moderate income renters and homeowners in urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities, including the elderly, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness. The need for affordable housing and community development services far exceeds what current funding levels can provide and sequestration would accelerate the growth in the number of households in need.

 

President Obama and the Congress are playing a game of “chicken” and it is going to be those that need services that pay the high-price.

 

I urge each of you in the very strongest way to contact your representative in Congress and place pressure on them to actually do their job and reach a deal to avoid sequestration. As of the morning of 2/18/13 members of Congress had adjourned for vacation and the President traveled to Florida to play golf. It is my opinion that the entire administration and congress should not adjourn until a deal is reached.

 

Use the links below to determine who your member of congress is and how to contact them today.

 

Contacting Congress

Congressional Directory

 

Tips On Telephoning Your Elected Representatives

To find your senators' and representative's phone numbers, you may use our searchable online congressional directory or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask for your senators' and/or representative's office.

Remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress. Ask to speak with the aide who handles the issue about which you wish to comment.
After identifying yourself, tell the aide you would like to leave a brief message, such as: "Please tell Senator/Representative (Name) that I support/oppose (S.___/H.R.___)."
You will also want to state reasons for your support or opposition to the bill. Ask for your senators' or representative's position on the bill. You may also request a written response to your telephone call.

Murdered or Martyred: Spencer Cox's Final Contribution

Murdered or Martyred: Spencer Cox's Final Contribution
By: Aaron M. Laxton, HIV-Infected Queer Activist and Blogger

Weeks ago the status feed on my Facebook and other social media was captivated by one particular name... Spencer Cox. Throughout the days following his death activists from around the world shared stories and articles in reference to Spencer. As I opened up my email there was a plethora of condolence emails which all began something like this: "Loss of a pioneer...", most shared in what capacity the person sending the email had interacted with Spencer. 

As information regarding his drug addiction and personal struggle with post-traumatic stress became public, the world got a glimpse of the bruised and battered warrior who stood valliantly behind the armor. Spencer saturated himself in the science of HIV and is directly credited by Peter Staley, a fellow AIDS activist who was featured on "How to Survive a Plague", for saving the lives of over eight-million patients; a result of his efforts to standardize protocols which were adopted by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) which brought about the protease inhibitor.

In the plague era, Cox found himself in a time before society had a name for what is now called AIDS. It first appeared as a rare cancer seen in eleven gay men, for a time it was called GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency) and finally would become AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Friends and lovers were falling one by one at first and over time those numbers increased to staggering, alarming rates. Although everyone wanted to believe that they would live, the reality was that while death called upon a vast majority relatively quickly, others would be left forever scarred by pain, suffering and misery. Just as with any masscre or distaster the toll of the event is long-lasting and life-changing.

Political inaction which left those living, or rather dying, with AIDS was tantamount to  goverment-sanctioned death for patients during the plague years. Cox, a genius and pioneer was sentenced to death long ago by such politicians who turned a blind eye to an entire community that was being ravished by AIDS. Although today the political climate has, to a great deal, embraced HIV/AIDS, this certainly was not the reality of the plaque era. Cox and his fellow activists directly challenged not only the New York City Hall but also the White House and almost every major establishment in Washington, D.C. A politician's disinterest and lack of desire to become involved only further motivated activists such as Cox to blaze a trail into unknown territory. 

It was the introduction of the Denver Principes which boldly proclaimed that those infected were "AIDS patients" rather than "AIDS victims" and to this end Cox was no victim at least in the short-term. In the long-term Cox was merely the tip-of-the-iceberg regarding a marginalized and disenfranchised community who was viewed by politicians as "acceptable losses". 

There are followers and then there are leaders and those abilities are as much a gift as they are an art. Spencer Cox without doubt would forever changed the landscape of AIDS in the United States and Globally. His death however also serves as one last action. An action, like any successful action, brings to light an injustice and inequality through public awareness. An action also involves the potential for personal sacrifice through arrest, detention, or in this case... Death.

Much like the images we have seen of Tibetan Monks who set themselves on fire in one final act of protest, Cox so too has made a statement. A person who had been so instrumental is reforming how those living with HIV/AIDS received medications stopped taking his own. This was the equivalent of cutting an artery and allowing it slowly bleed out. The cestation of his medications meant one thing... death would finally come for this wounded warrior. For all of the things Cox stood for, such as empirical data, quantifiable-numbers and research, it was the latent-affects of living through the plague era which proved just as detrimental as the virus.

Our understanding of the psychological and emotional damage caused as a result of surviving the plague are not well understood. How many more Spencer Cox's are out there? How many more are survivors who through their own actions hasten death through self-destructive behaviors or attitudes? An addiction to crystal meth was merely the means by way Spencer self-medicated. The addiction was only a symptom of a greater problem that is not isolated to just Spencer. A greater problem that is running rampant throughout the gay community and within the AIDS community. I myself have battled with an addiction to Crystal meth as well as other self-destructive patterns of behavior. 

Why did he survive when so many others had died? The grief and grieving that seemingly over-shadowed being alive has been hidden away as a dark secret and is not spoken of near as often as it should be within our communities. What is focused on is improved drug therapies, longer life expectancies and "normal" lives however ignoring the catastrophic and debilitating emotional wreckage in plague-era patients is a travesty and it must be stopped.

Spencer Cox's death can be viewed as a murder which was sanctioned long ago but that only recently occurred or it can be viewed as the ultimate action and political statement to decry an injustice and inequality, only you can be the judge.

One HIV-Infected Queer’s Response to the State of the Union

One HIV-Infected Queer’s Response to the State of the Union

By: Aaron Laxton, HIV-Infected Queer Activist and Blogger

Recently the news of a school massacre with twenty children killed galvanized media outlets around the world. In the days and weeks after, politicians from both sides of the aisle dug in for what would without doubt be a long fight regarding gun reform. As a person that is living with HIV I am left to question, where is this same passion and fervor regarding a CURE for HIV/AIDS?

With an aging group of activist and an ever changing-political environment comes a change in priorities and the government’s ability to put issues that we hold as valuable as a lower-priority. It is true that therapies and treatments for HIV/AIDS have vastly improved; the fight is far from over. The rates of new HIV infections within the African-American and Latino populations are staggering and barriers regarding access to care still abound.

During President Obama’s State of the Union address those of us living with HIV waited for a renewed sense of vigor and determination, marking a move towards a CURE for HIV/AIDS. Sadly, in the end, it was a vague phrase that seemed like an ingenuous attempt to court voters rather than an actual plan to get to an AIDS free generation. By the numbers, those living with HIV/AIDS have seen catastrophic cuts to programs and funding under the Obama Administration that only serve to prove that lip service is alive and well in the White House and Washington, DC.

Twenty white-children are killed in a school shooting; subsequently the instantaneous response from the White House is a stark-contrast to the determination and attention given to HIV/AIDS, an epidemic which has killed millions of people including at least 290,000 gay men. I suppose it makes sense since dead votes do not count on Election Day!

Just as it was in the early days of the epidemic, it was not until white children began to become infected did the public develop a bad taste in their mouth. What will it take now for the public, for those living with HIV/AIDS to rise up and demand a CURE to an epidemic that has been raging more than 32 years, with more casualties than all the wars put together?

I am simply on queer living with HIV who is using his voice but if we are to succeed it will demand that once again we get angry over a lack of governmental response, funding cuts to HIV/AIDS Programs, cost containment measures affecting ADAP recipients and the list goes on. Who is this generation’s Larry Kramer to rally the troops and boldly proclaim that without action we are dead?

HIV will not kill you but your passivity and laziness will!

 

HIV will not kill you immediately but your passivity and laziness will!

By: Aaron Laxton, HIV-infected Queer activist and blogger

Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to speak at the ADAP Association Summit in Washington, DC. It was during my remarks that I posed the question, “If we simply provide medications to those living with HIV/AIDS yet we do nothing to improve their quality of life, what have we ultimately achieved?” The reality for those living with HIV is that quality of life is directly being threatened. It is being threatened and it must not be allowed to continue! Any meaningful existence for HIV/AIDS patients is directly being threatened in the form cost-containment measures with ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program), reduction of HIV/AIDS program funding, increased HIV Criminalization efforts and outrageous pricing for new Anti-Retroviral Drugs in the name of research and development, just to name a few. In 2010 Gilead Sciences controlled at least 40 percent of the market share for HIV/AIDS therapies and showed profits of over $6.3 billion.

While some may call me an alarmist and radical, the fact remains that those of us living with HIV/AIDS are simply viewed as a “past-epidemic; a closed chapter- a black mark on our history marked by political-inaction, marginalization and demoralization”; take your medications and do not rock the boat is the current mentality! It is my opinion; big-pharma has bought the silence of a new generation of HIV patients thus quelling outrage over the lack of a CURE after thirty-two years. All of the advancements, therapies and medications we currently have came as a direct result of action from a generation that knew they would never be alive to see it. So please spare me the rhetoric that says, “We have never been closer to a cure as we are right now.” Where is the damn cure?

The Journal of the AIDS Society published new research that projected life-expectancies to approximately 69 years. One key challenge is that an aging population of patients living with HIV present researchers and clinicians with more questions than answers. Our understanding of AIDS-related malignancies has improving unfortunately patients that survived the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic are now staring a new insidious-challenge in directly in the face. Is it related to aging, anti-retroviral drugs, HIV/AIDS or all the above?

While aging populations of HIV/AIDS patients face significant challenges, the HIV/AIDS movement faces profound challenges which could prove fatal if not addressed. We must address philosophical questions regarding where we have been and where we are going if we are to ultimately achieve the Holy Grail, a CURE.

A previous HIV population had quite possibly the purest reason for fighting… a will to live. Today however, there is seemingly a lazy attitude among a younger HIV-community that directly translates into passivity and acceptance of the status-quo. Where is the fight?

Politicians will keep chiseling away at HIV/AIDS funding and programs until there is nothing! Twenty-five years ago, activists and AIDS Service Organizations would raise hell to stop this. Unfortunately many AIDS Service Organizations have lost their sense of direction and consequently no longer serve the populations that they were once determined to help. Those organizations which still have an interest in serving those living HIV are so afraid of advocating for specific issues lest their funding get cut.

We cannot depend on AIDS Service Organizations to place pressure on politicians on issues such as CURE Research, HIV/AIDS program funding cuts or issues such as HIV-criminalization. It is going to patients who are currently passive and lethargic to awaken from their dazed, lackadaisical-slumber and fight for their lives.  It you have ever heard me speak I always say the same thing… politicians do not change things out of the kindness of their hearts. They change because people place pressure on them and they do it out of self-preservation.

Aaron Laxton: My HIV Journey, HIV Meds And False Positives On Drug Test