[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E474-E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          AIDS NOW THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN YOUNG WOMEN

                                 ______


                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 27, 1996

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am reintroducing legislation today to 
address the need for increased research on HIV-AIDS in women and more 
targeted HIV-AIDS prevention and outreach efforts for women. Senator 
Paul Simon will be reintroducing the bills in the Senate in the next 
several weeks.
  AIDS is now the third leading cause of death among women who are 25-
44 years of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. The two largest increases in 1994, the year covered by the 
latest statistics, were a 30-percent increase among white women and a 
28-percent increase among African-American women. AIDS was the cause of 
death for at least one out of every five young African-American women.
  Women of color have been most severely affected; while African-
American women and Latinas account for only 21 percent of women in the 
United States, they make up 54 percent and 20 percent of cumulative 
AIDS cases among women, respectively.
  Since I first introduced legislation addressing HIV-AIDS and women in 
1990, we have made progress on these issues. The National Institute on 
Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID] initiated the women's natural 
history study, the women's interagency HIV study, and has worked to 
increase the number of women in clinical trials. Both NIAID and the 
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD] have 
increased the resources devoted to topical microbicide research. I 
commend the NIAID and NICHD for their efforts, and I urge the research 
community to continue the momentum in these directions. This year's 
research bill reflects the progress that has been made, and provides 
for additional funding to further these gains.
  A major focus of our research bill continues to be funding for 
research on topical microbicides and barrier methods of protection from 
sexually transmitted diseases [STD's], including HIV, that women can 
use with or without their sexual partner's cooperation or knowledge. 
The development of a topical microbicide--a compound capable of 
preventing the transmission of HIV and a range of STD's--is critically 
needed and would revolutionize our U.S. and global HIV and STD 
prevention programs.
  Current HIV prevention methods rely on the cooperation of male 
partners. Many women lack the power within relationships to insist on 
condom use, as well as the resources to leave situations that place 
them at risk. It is critical

[[Page E475]]

that we acknowledge and respond to the issues of low self-esteem, 
economic dependency, fear of domestic violence, and other factors which 
are barriers to empowering women to negotiate safer sex practices.
  The research bill also includes additional funding to continue the 
women's interagency HIV study, the ongoing study of HIV progression in 
women, and to conduct other research to determine the impact of 
potential risk factors for HIV transmission to women, such as infection 
with other STD's, the use of various contraceptive methods, and the use 
of vaginal products.
  Other provisions include increased funding for support services, such 
as child care, in order to further the efforts by NIAID to increase 
enrollment of women in clinical trials. The bill also includes funding 
to increase data on women through gynecological examinations prior to 
enrollment in clinical trials and during the course of the trials. It 
is critical that the full range of questions important to understanding 
HIV in women are answered.
  In regard to prevention, progress has also been made with the 
implementation of the CDC HIV community planning process. Through this 
program, State and local health departments work with local community-
based organizations, community leaders, people living with HIV-AIDS, 
and groups at risk for HIV, to develop prevention programs for their 
own communities. However, despite the new statistics on HIV, most women 
still do not consider themselves to be at risk.
  The prevention bill provides additional funding to family planning 
providers, community health centers, and other providers who already 
serve low-income women, to provide community-based HIV prevention 
programs. Many of them already provide unfunded prevention programs; 
this funding would allow them to expand their services and provide 
outreach to women who are not currently using family planning clinics 
or other community health services for women.
  The bill also provides funding for referrals, including treatment for 
HIV and substance abuse, mental health services, pregnancy and 
childbirth, pediatric care, housing services, public assistance, job 
training, child care, respite care, and domestic violence.
  Mr. Speaker, we have made progress in addressing the needs of women 
in the HIV epidemic, but we have far more to do. We are running out of 
time for a generation of young men--we cannot afford to wait. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation.

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