My Fair Lady
I found
your discussion of Femmes Positives, the organization fighting to
criminalize HIV transmission in France, to be objective and
representative [“Fighting Femmes,” June 2005]. Aurore, the 24-year -old
woman who killed herself after hearing her infector might get out of
prison, is my daughter. I simply wish to fight for justice—so I
say yes to criminalization. Obviously, the answer is not to punish
everybody—people with HIV are not bad. But we need vigilance and to
spread our message. You are part of this chain of communication.
Ange Jochem
Vendenheim, France
“Fighting
Femmes” is extremely biased and makes me ashamed to live in France. You
feed the criminalization movement by using mostly one-sided quotes from
the women of Femmes Positives—even if you criticize many of the dubious
things they stand for. Your cover line, “French Revolution,” should be
“French Regression.” Do you know that there are approximately 70,000
HIV positive women in France, and they are almost all [likely] against
criminalization? Giving this small minority publicity can only
reinforce their convictions.
Marjolaine Degremont
Paris
I
was intentionally infected by a lover and must disagree with Sean Strub
and his view of criminalization [Founder’s Letter, June 2005]. He
contends that “the trend to prosecute people with HIV who have sex
deemed ‘unsafe’ or without disclosing their status is terrifying.” My
lover of four years came to me and forced unsafe sex. He knew his
status and later disclosed to a friend his intention to infect me to
“maintain the relationship.” This kind of behavior deserves prosecution.
Dean Jones
Orlando, Florida
Condomnation
“White
Smoke in Our Eyes” [June 2005] calls the Catholic Church’s stance on
condom use “oversimplistic” without actually explaining it. This
indicates a lack of understanding of the sanctity the Incarnation
bestowed upon the human body. Picturing a chalice, the sacred vessel of
the blood of Christ, overflowing with packaged condoms was a sacrilege
and an outrage. Showing an unwrapped condom on the fingers of the late
Pope John Paul II was pornographic. Your disgraceful display only
deepened the schism between those fighting AIDS from within the Church
teachings and those from without.
Elizabeth Lynch
Ilion, New York
Corrections:
In “Fighting Femmes” [June 2005], Aurore had been dating the man who
infected her for eight months—not six years— six months of which they
lived together.
Beacon
Hill Clinic in Boulder, Colorado, does offer post-exposure prophylaxis
(PEP) to its clients [“PEP on the Down Low,” May
2005].
