January 19, 2010 the Honorable
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
January 19, 2010 The Honorable Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President, Republic of Uganda We, the undersigned physicians, scientists, clinicians and health educators, are writing to urge the government and people of Uganda to reject further consideration of a bill, entitled the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, currently pending in the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. The Bill’s provisions include penalties of life imprisonment for same gender consensual sex acts and for imprisonment of individuals who do not report persons suspected of engaging in homosexual acts to the police within 24 hours. We believe the provisions of this Bill would establish a framework for civil society that is counter to the fundamental principles of human rights and threaten the remarkable advances that Uganda has made in combating the AIDS epidemic. Enactment of this measure will undermine public health by further stigmatizing persons at risk of, or living with, HIV infection and compromising trust and confidentiality between patients and their health care providers. We believe in the inherent equality and dignity of all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This Bill would deprive an already vulnerable minority population, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of Uganda, of the most basic human rights of life, liberty, freedom from violence, and the freedoms of speech and association. The Bill coercively sets the majority against the minority, threatening families, doctors, ministers, landlords, employers, and others with imprisonment for failure to report those violating the Bill’s provisions. Those speaking out against the Bill can be branded as promoting homosexuality, resulting in imprisonment. Such insidious laws have no place in a free society. We believe that this Bill also endangers the success that Uganda has made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The government and people of Uganda have served as an example for all in this vital effort that includes leadership at the highest levels of government, the establishment of numerous, strong international collaborative relationships, and candid discussions with the public about HIV prevention and risk reduction. These efforts have been successful because of the free flow of people and information and dynamic, open civil and scientific discussion. The draconian provisions of this Bill place these requirements for success in serious jeopardy. We strongly urge you to use your influence and authority to reject this Bill in its entirety, and to set the example of a free country advancing the safety, health and well being of all of its people. Sincerely, 1. Michael Lederman, MD, Case Western Reserve University 2. Carol D. Hamilton, MD, MHS, Duke University/Family Health International 3. Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, Harvard University 4. Kenneth Mayer, MD, Brown University 5. Michael Saag, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham 6. A. Manathuge, MBBS, MSc, MD, National STD /AIDS Control Progmamme 7. A. Mark Joffe, MD, University of Alberta 8. A. Patrick MacPhail, MB, BCh ,PhD, University of the Witwatersrand 9. A.L. Kisch, MD, NYC Transit Authority 10. Aadia Rana, MD, Brown University 11. Aarti Agrawal, MD, University at Buffalo 12. Abigail Orenstein, MD,MPH, University of Maryland 13. Abigail Polus, BS, UC Berkeley 14. Adam DuVall, MD/MPH Candidate, CWRU 15. Adam Johnson, BSc (Hons), The Burnet Institute 16. Adam Kimball Richards, MD, MPH, UCLA 17. Adedayo Adedeji, MD, Staten Island University Hospital ,Staten Island, NY 18. Aditya Mandawat, BS, Case Western Reserve University 19. Adriana Andrade, MD, Johns Hopkins University 20. Adrienne Rollie, MSc, Childrens Hopsital Los Angeles 21. Aftab A. Ansari, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine 22. Ajay K. Sethi, PhD, MHS, University of Wisconsin-Madison 23. Al Ozonoff, PhD, Boston University School of Public Health 24. Alan Bulbin, MD, North Shore Infectious Diseases 25. Alan D. Levine, BS, MPhil, PhD, Case Western Reserve University 26. Alan Landay, PhD, Rush University Medical Center 27. Alan Lifson, MD, MPH, University of Minnesota 28. Alan M. Sugar, MD, Cape Cod Hospital 29. Alan Paton Twesigomwe, MB ChB, Makerere University 30. Alan Taege, MD, Cleveland Clinic 31. Alejandro Krolewiecki, MD, PhD, Fundación Huésped 32. Alexander Macalalad, MD, Harvard University 33. Alexander Wong, MD, University of Alberta 34. Alexandre Montenegro 35. Alfonso Silva-Santisteban, MD, MPH, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia 36. Alfredo Tiu, DO, University of California, San Diego 37. Ali Groves, MHS, UNC 38. Alice Cartwright, MPH, VSI 39. Alida K. Acosta, Barry University 40. Alisa Stephens, AM, Harvard University 41. Alisa Wapinsky, PsyD, Union Institute and University 42. Alisha Benner, MD, WakeMed Hospital, Raleigh, NC 43. Alison Mittelsteadt, MS, Case Western Reserve University 44. Alison Niblick, BA, Doctoral Candidate, School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University 45. Alison Reed, MPH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 46. Allan Lavetter, A.B. , MD, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, California 47. Allen L. Gifford, MD, Boston University 48. Allison Henry, BS (MD 2011), Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine 49. Allison Myers, MA Community Counseling, John Carroll University 50. Allison Weinmann, MBBS FRACP, Henry Ford Medical System, Wayne State University 51. Alyssa Barry, PhD, Burnet Institute 52. Ama Nyamekye, BFA Writing, MS Teaching, MS Communications, Emerson College, Pace University, Columbia University 53. Amanda Bradke, BS, MA, Case Western Reserve Univerisity 54. Amanda Eager, BS, University of Notre Dame 55. Amanda Ross, MA, University of Akron 56. Amaran Moodley, MD, University of California 57. Amaya Bustinduy, MD, Case Western Reserve University 58. Ameeta Kalokhe, MD, Emory University School of Medicine 59. Ameeta Singh, BMBS, MSc, University of Alberta 60. Amesh A. Adalja, MD, University of Pittsburgh 61. Amilcar Baiardi, DSc, UFRB Brazil 62. Amy Bryant, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 63. Amy Chang, PharmD; Medical Student, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine 64. Amy DeSantis, PhD Human Development & Social Policy, Northwestern University 65. Amy Hirsch, PharmD, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center 66. Amy M. Sitapati, MD, University of California, San Diego 67. Amy Mangieri, MPH, George Washington University 68. Amy Stenehjem, MD, University of North Dakota 69. Ana E. Sousa, MD, PhD, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal 70. Ana Maria Moreira Cesar, Educator 71. Ana Maria Moro, PhD, Instituto Butantan 72. Andre Bafica, MD, UFSC 73. Andre Couri, MD, Uniban University 74. Andres F. Camacho-Gonzalez, MD, Emory University 75. Andrew A. Vernon, MD, MHS, Private citizen 76. Andrew Coyle, BS, CWRU 77. Andrew D. Badley, MD, Mayo Clinic and Foundation 78. Andrew Dang, MD Candidate, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine 79. Andrew Ellingson, MPH, CBAR, Harvard School of Public Health 80. Andrew Lai, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 81. Andrew W Tucker, MPH 82. Andrew Weinhold, BA, Health and Societies, University of Pennsylvania 83. Andy O. Miller, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery 84. Aneesh K. Mehta, MD, Emory University 85. Angela Cendron, BSc (Hons), PhD, Burnet Institute 86. Angela Chan, PhD, University of Melbourne 87. Angela Rose Brannon, PhD Candidate, University of North Carolina 88. Angeline Ferdinand, MPH 89. Angélique Biancotto, PhD 90. Anisha Gandhi, MPH, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 91. Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, University of British Columbia 92. Ann Conrad, RN, ACRN, MetroHealth Medical Center 93. Ann Fisher, MD, Hospital of Saint Raphael 94. Ann Lamet, PhD, Barry University 95. Ann M. Buchanan, MD, MPH, Duke University - Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre 96. Ann Mullally, MD, Harvard University 97. Anna Fiskin, Medical Student, Case Western Reserve University 98. Anna Levin, MD, University of São Paulo, Brazil 99. Anne Chen, MD, Henry Ford Hospital 100. Anne G Thomas, PhD, us Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program/PEPFAR 101. Anne Newcomer, BA, MD Candidate, Case Western Reserve University 102. Anne Rompalo, MD, ScM, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 103. Annemarie Brouwer, MD, UMC - St Radboud Nijmegen 104. Anneta Golubchik, MD, Baystate Medical Center 105. Anthony Fiore, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 106. Anthony J. Silvestre, PhD, University of Pittsburgh 107. Anthony Olivero, MD, Boston Children's Hospital 108. Anthony Vaccaro, MD, Northwestern University 109. Aparna Swaminathan, Case Western Reserve University 110. Archana Sud, MD, FRACP, Nepean Hospital 111. Ariel Campos, MD, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán 112. Arielle Kanters, BS, BA, Case Western Reserve University 113. Arturo Galindo-Fraga, MD, MSc, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico 114. Aruna Subramanian, MD, Johns Hopkins University 115. Ashleigh A Bushman, RN, BSN, baccalaureate degree of science in nursing, University Hospitals Case Medical Center 116. Ashley Buchanan, MS, Harvard School of Public Health 117. Ashley Funk, BA, Psychology, Valparaiso University/Wright State University School of Professional Psychology 118. Ashley Haase, MD, University of Minnesota 119. Ashley Reno, BS, BA, PsyM, Wright State University 120. Ashley Trotter, Medicine, Case Western Reserve University 121. Ashwin Balagopal, MD, Johns Hopkins 122. Bruce Loveland, BSc, PhD, Associate Prof, Burnet Institute [he should be listed with the Bs] 123. Aubrey