Women and AIDS

Women and AIDS

AIDS (Disease) Discrimination Medical care Medicine Women Civil rights Segregation AIDS (Disease) in women Center for Disease Control

Alexandra Marks reports that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that women are the fastest-growing segment of the HIV population. Marks reports that many believe that the CDC has radically underestimated the number of women with AIDS. Marks notes that a conference on women and AIDS was held in Boston recently. Marks interviews Jean McGuire (Harvard School of Public Health) and Martha Moon (Fenway Community Health Center) at the conference. McGuire and Moon believe that many women are dying of AIDS without being diagnosed. Moon says that the CDC definition of AIDS does not include the symptoms of female victims. McGuire and Moon say that many female victims are not eligible for medical benefits because they do not meet the CDC definition of the disease. Marks reports that the CDC says that there is not enough evidence to link the symptoms of women patients to AIDS. McGuire and Moon criticize the CDC's lack of initiative on the issue. Marks' report includes an interview with April Moore (recovering drug addict). Marks notes that Moore has recently been diagnosed with AIDS, but has no health insurance and no steady job.

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