President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic
The President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic was a commission formed by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987 to investigate the AIDS pandemic. It is also known as the Watkins Commission for its chairman, James D. Watkins.
[edit] History
Watkins, who chaired the ten-member Commission, won the support of many AIDS awareness advocates[who?] when his conservative panel unexpectedly recommended supporting anti-bias laws to protect HIV-positive people, on-demand treatment for drug addicts, and the speeding of AIDS-related research.
During a press conference in 1988, Watkins said "Semen, blood, and ignorance surround this epidemic, and we were in that last category."
The Commission submitted 597 recommendations to the Reagan administration.
[edit] Controversy
Reagan is often criticized by AIDS-awareness groups[who?] for responding too little, too late to the growing cries for an inquiry into rapidly-spreading HIV.
Critics of Reagan's response to the Commission's findings[who?] state that the recommendations of the Commission went largely ignored by both the Reagan administration and its successor, the George H. W. Bush administration.
[edit] External links
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