President Bush once again proved that he doesn’t believe in the constitution scientifically proven, life-saving programs that have been successful for decades.** The Washington Post reported on Friday that President Bush’s 2009 budget proposal for Washington D.C. called for the re-instatement of a needle exchange funding ban that was rescinded by Congress last year.

This seems like an ideological jab at Congress – and subversive one at that. With their decision last year to repeal the ban that prevented D.C. from using its own money for life-saving needle exchange programs, Congress declined to conform to the same apathy that currently fuels the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs. This provision in the proposal may present a problem for D.C.’s budget next year, but hopefully Congress – since they are the ultimate decision maker (not the president) -- will continue to make appropriations decisions based on scientifically proven policy.

And the science is there. The preponderance of scientific evidence over the last 20 years strongly suggests the successes of these programs in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as other infectious diseases. It is high time that Bush actually considers scientific evidence. But he won’t. As with abstinence only sex-education, abstinence-only intravenous drug use disease prevention does not work for everyone.

President Bush no doubt grounds his decision in morality (which is, of course, bitterly ironic in so many ways). He contends that these programs increase the drug use of its participants – a claim that most studies of needle swapping programs refute (note: there are only a few – honestly -- that suggest increased drug use and disease transmission; these few are the ones the Bush administration point to).

Mr. Bush also claims that it sends the wrong message to children because these programs “condone” drug use. So is it moral to allow drug users to die a slow and painful death because they wouldn’t go into treatment? One has to keep the drug user alive if one is able to treat the addiction. In fact, syringe exchange programs many times act as the first exposure to health and treatment services for the drug user. Mr. Bush, therefore, is defeating his own “moral” superiority because he is in effect killing the drug user before getting him or her into treatment. How can that be considered moral?

** Can I go just one day without hearing another reason why it should be solidified in history that George W. Bush is the worst Vice-President ever? Yeah, you read that right.

Posted by Evan G @ 3:33 PM