27 Nov 2012
The trio was arrested when they disrobed to protest against the spending cuts in HIV programs in the lobby of House Speaker John Boehner’s office on Tuesday.
The three women with words “Aids cut kills” on their backs had their arms linked with four other men before being taken into custody by police. According to news reports they chanted “people with AIDS under attack, what do,we do? Fight back”
On Thursday, Secretary Clinton is expected to announce a blueprint to end AIDS. The mandatory budget cuts will make this goal nearly impossible, resulting in at least 620,000 otherwise preventable deaths from HIV. The naked protest was timed to coincide with the World AIDS Day march of hundreds of AIDS activists marching from the Democratic National Committee to the offices of Congressional leaders to demand a stop to the sequestration budget cuts that will push the world backwards in the fight against AIDS. In May of 2011, the U.S. funded study, HPTN 052, proved that the AIDS pandemic could be stopped and we could see an AIDS free world in a generation if a small number of people were put on treatment around the world.
“The naked truth is that if President Obama and Congressional leaders like Speaker Boehner allow these budget cuts to lifesaving programs, global health programs will lose $689 million, while domestic AIDS programs will lose $538 million.”, said Eustacia Smith from ACT UP New York.
“Boehner and others in Congress think that they can gut lifesaving programs without any consequences. We are here to bare witness and expose the effect on their constituents.” said, Michael Tikili from QUEEROCRACY.
Source: The New Civil Rights Movement
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