What do you think of Reginald Finger's religious opposition an HIV Vaccine?

Reginald Finger is an Evangelical Christian appointed to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He recently announced that he would consider opposing an HIV vaccine on the basis that it would encourage premarital sex.

Are we to respect Mr. Finger religious faith? What about the president who appointed him and the faith of the voters who put that president in power?

Just to clarify. A vaccine is not the same as a cure -- it's a pre-emptive measure that you take before you could contract HIV. Mr. Finger may support a cure for all I know, but he apparently opposes a vaccine.

The man is from Focus on the Family, so no surprise there. What amazes me was that FotF was ASKED to provide a list of "scientists" for the CDC committe. As though FotF had anything whatsoever to do with science.

Finger needs to be given the finger and the boot. He is talking about deciding national policy that could save thousands, even millions of lives...and his stance seems to be "Let them all die and be a warning to the rest."

Despicable.

Silly.

I think hes wrong. Respect his faith, yes, out of courtesy only. Respect the president, again, courtesy only. Faith of the voters, just a point here, not all people who voted for Bush are religious you know.

They're all monsters and should be thrown into a pit. These are the worst, greediest, most hypocritical pieces of crap imaginable and if it werent for the fear and desperation of their flocks they would all have been strung up long ago.

He sounds like a tosser to me.

ROFL. so why doesnt he just state "kill the nonbelievers"

thats exactly what hes doing, holding everyone accountable under HIS beliefs. not everyone is christian therefore not everyone believes premarital sex is wrong. i think he is showing lack of compassion for his brothers and sisters here on earth.

i cant imagine jesus would oppose healing people.

Well then he is a complete idiot because who is he to tell people who can or cannot have sex or to save lives.

He's nuts, putting the bible before peoples lives, i think people like that are verging on insanity

His religious faith is not the problem. His erroneous assumption that the threat of HIV is a factor in deciding to have premarital sex is the problem.

People are clearly having premarital sex whether there's a threat of HIV infection or not. Thus, the threat of HIV is not a factor in the decision to have premarital sex. A vaccine would simply be promoting life.

I believe I would have to support mankind's right to not suffer than any one person's religious beliefs.

It hasn't been that long ago in cosmic time that hardcore rightwing religious extremists put up the exact same argument about making birth control pills available to women.. claiming that it would encourage "sinful fornication". How DARE any one individual, or group, put forth demands for the passing of laws based on what they themselves happen to believe religiously. If that isn't the most blatant and outrageous attempt to abolish separation of Church and State, I don't know what is.

Obviously Reverend Finger is under the mistaken belief that God created AIDS as a judgment against homosexuals, and that only homosexuals contract AIDS. Reverend Finger needs to listen to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, rather than that idiot voice of Satan yapping in his head. I do not support the gay agenda; in fact, I do not support any body's agenda except God's. I do think that a vaccination against AIDS would be financially responsible because it would save govenment entities billions of dollars in health care costs, and it could save humanity from suffering from a terrible disease. This is not a religious issue---it is a health care issue.

Wow- I hadn't heard that. Speaking as a Christian, I can't say that I agree with his statement. Yes, premarital sex is wrong. But denying someone the option of being healed from HIV is like saying that their sin is SO bad that they deserve to die for it. In my opinion, Mr. Finger is being extremely judgemental. A sin is a sin the eyes of God- no one sin is "worse" than another. We're all guilty of sinning and making mistakes. Let me propose this situation- let's say Mr. Finger has a gambling problem (this is just an example- I know nothing about Mr. Finger). As a result of his gambling problem, he goes into major debt. Should he be denied the right to a financial counselor/gambling counselor to get help with his situation? I don't think so. Everyone makes mistakes- period. God forgives, so should we.

Ah yes, another "pro-life" consideration. Actually, now that I think about it, people like Mr. Finger are a walking argument for the absolute necessity of on-demand abortion - and why religious dogma has no place in policy..