Most Democratic Presidential Candidates Support Needle Exchange
December 7th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
A survey by the AIDS Project of Central Iowa found that most of the Democratic candidates for president said they would support needle exchange programs to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among injection-drug users, Medical News Today reported Nov. 30.
Each candidate was asked, “Do you support access to sterile syringes, as a means of protecting public Men’s health, by lifting the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange?” Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Sen. John Edwards, and Sen. Joseph Biden all answered “yes” to the question.
None of the Republican candidates for president, however, participated in the survey, which also asked questions about abstinance-based education and federal funding for AIDS patients. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declined to take part, while the remaining Republican and Democratic candidates did not respond.