The Fight Against AIDS

The article "Morality and the Health of the Body Politic," by Dan Beauchamp, deals with the issue of fighting the spread of AIDS. Different groups have very different ideas on how to fight the deadly disease, and in this article two groups are highlighted. One, the legal moralists, believes in implementing laws which restrict the autonomy of certain individuals in the name of preserving the majority. This group adopts the utilitarian point of view. Its opposition believes in education as the answer: "Education is our only hope for prevention, and here we confront the barrier of societal practices regarding homosexuality." These group members adhere to the political perspective and have a problem with the legal moralist's motives for wanting AIDS legislation. While a legal moralist "sees laws against homosexuality as ordained by God and tradition," those for education believe that, "by permitting the majority the right to enforce legally its traditional prejudices, particularly in the sexual realm, the health and safety of the public can be directly threatened."

The legal moralists believe in a utilitarian point of view-- the most good for the most people--illustrated by the belief that, "if a common morality is shared by a majority, this alone is sufficient justification to include it in the criminal law." They also see as ethical and correct what strengthens the social fiber of a community: "Moralists be

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negative men even after the slight decline from test-result awareness. McClusker's study does not support the use of HIV antibody testing as an informational aid to risk reduction by itself. Also, once the results are given, those who have tested positive may need additional counselling to deal with the depression and other problems that could occur. Those on the side supporting education as the way to combat AIDS use a political perspective because they want to communicate information that affects the public. They want people to become more aware of the causes of AIDS and how to protect themselves and how to slow the spread of this devastating disease. This group believes in treating AIDS victims fairly, in respecting the individual's rights, and in giving people information so they can then be free of biased laws and be responsible by using the information on safety. These characteristics identify the political perspective. They show a public motivation, based on their desire to inform the public for the benefit of all, with no specific group's values or morals being forced on a smaller group. They are concerned with justice in terms of homosexuals' rights, and they stress respect for dissent. They want "a public heal
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Public Health, Health Service, Rovner Dannemeyer, Dan Beauchamp, Dan Beauchamps', Francisco York, Dannemeyer Dannemeyer, public health, Congressional Quarterly, political perspective, AIDS Testing, Legal Moralism, hiv test, journal public, sexual practices, journal public health, american journal public, american journal, positive hiv test, health body politic, spread aids, test result, legal moralists, hiv antibody, hiv test result,
Approximate Word count = 2190
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)