Schwarzeneggar Proposes to End HIV/AIDS Services

[Prudence]

The comparison I would make is a contrast to other "safety net" programs.

Take food stamps. Without food stamps, people go hungry. Will some die? Quite possibly. Somehow most will likely scrape by. Not well, but they'll live. Soup kitchens, shelters, digging through garbage -- somehow they'll manage to live to see the next day.

Without the right medications, those with HIV/AIDS *will* die. And they can't go to a soup kitchen or shelter or dig through the garbage to find some sort of replacement. Furthermore, the expense is such that the community cannot absorb it through the same sort of limited altruism that stocks food pantries.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Prudence

The comparison I would make is a contrast to other "safety net" programs.

Take food stamps. Without food stamps, people go hungry. Will some die? Quite possibly. Somehow most will likely scrape by. Not well, but they'll live. Soup kitchens, shelters, digging through garbage -- somehow they'll manage to live to see the next day.

Without the right medications, those with HIV/AIDS *will* die. And they can't go to a soup kitchen or shelter or dig through the garbage to find some sort of replacement. Furthermore, the expense is such that the community cannot absorb it through the same sort of limited altruism that stocks food pantries.

Exactly. There are no alternatives in the private sector. If ADAP is cut, most will die.