“HIV must be the enemy, not the people”

On Thursday, the Presidium of the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) welcomed the European Parliament’s latest resolution on the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. The resolution calls for a stronger commitment against the disease through thorough information, efficient protective measures as well as the promotion of measures to reduce discrimination against people living with HIV. “The resolution is a very welcome step by the EU to further reduce the number of infections in Germany and, above all, to reduce the sometimes alarming increase in the number of infections in neighboring European countries,” said Ines Scheibe from the Federal Executive Committee of the HVD. Scheibe also expressed her delight that the adopted resolution does not provide for any new regulations to the detriment of women’s reproductive rights. The vote on the resolution was preceded by a lobbying campaign by denominational organizations that wanted to remove important provisions on easy access to contraceptives and abortion options from the political agenda in the fight against AIDS/HIV on religious grounds and delete them from the text of the resolution. The President of the HVD, Frieder Otto Wolf, had therefore made an appeal to the German MEPs on Wednesday and made it clear to them that approval of the proposed amendments would have meant a further step in the direction of curtailing women’s control over their sexual and reproductive rights or preventing them altogether. The request was to “stand up for the resolution in its entirety, and thus fend off efforts that ultimately do not benefit Europe’s health, but undermine it.” Ines Scheibe now sees a preliminary success for people’s rights in the sense of a humanistic, enlightened approach to HIV/AIDS. This would not only affect the rights of all women, but of all people of all ages affected by the disease. “Stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is unacceptable for humanists,” she explained. She once again referred to the text of the resolution, in which it was made clear that “HIV must be the enemy, not the people”.