Public Forum Letter
April 10, 2010

In discussing funding cuts for the Ryan White Program, which covers insurance premiums and medication co-pays for low-income people with HIV/AIDS, Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said, "It looks like we're funding a program that is going to be covered under Obamacare: pre-existing conditions, lifestyle choices and things of that nature I'm just concerned about that." ("GOP questions funding for HIV/AIDS patients," Tribune , April 8)

I'm not concerned; I'm outraged at Waddoups' callousness!

Lifestyle choices?  Choices like having a cheating partner not tell you he or she is HIV? Like being the child of an HIV legal refugee?  Choices like being denied comprehensive sex education?

I spent six years working with this community and regularly buried my clients.  If you're not poor when you contract HIV, you will be when you die of AIDS.

As a Christian, as a human being, how can anyone deny medical care to the ill? We need to fully fund such needed programs and cut costly nonsense message bills.  Shame on Waddoups:  "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).

Arthur Reilly
West Valley City

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