Science vs. ideology

Photo by Karen Herland

Beri Hull, global advocacy spokesperson for HIV-positive women was the first speaker of this year’s Concordia Community Lecture Series on HIV/AIDS on Oct. 14. Hull focused on how George Bush’s government has increased global HIV prevention spending while simultaneously dictating the terms upon which that aid is available. Programs funded by the U.S. must promote abstinence.

Hull argued that this approach replaces science with ideology. “You don’t need much science to figure out that a condom is going to reduce transmission. I call it amoral morality. [The message is,] if you don’t do what we do, you deserve to die.”