July 9, 2007

Dear Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member Enzi:

We, the undersigned HIV/AIDS and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) services and advocacy organizations, are writing to express our opposition to the confirmation of Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. as the Surgeon General of the United States.

As you deliberate Dr. Holsinger's nomination, please remember that the mission of the Surgeon General is to serve as America's chief health educator by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury. The Surgeon General of the United States has long been called America's doctor. As America's doctor, the Surgeon General must be devoted to helping ALL Americans lead healthy lives and be firmly committed to science.

Dr. Holsinger has had an extensive medical career; however, he also has a long documented history of prejudice towards lesbians and gay men. HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most devastating public health crises facing our nation, heavily impacting the gay community. HIV/AIDS is a disease made all the more insidious because of the high levels of stigma surrounding homosexuality. Dr. Holsinger's personal biases, which he has expressed publicly, are likely to perpetuate stigma associated with homosexuality, hindering efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. It is doubtful that Dr. Holsinger will be able to advance objective public health policies for the LGBT community if he believes that homosexuality should be discouraged and altered.

In 1991, Dr. Holsinger prepared a paper for the United Methodist Church entitled "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," in which he attempts to give a scientific and medical rationale for his opinions that homosexuality is abnormal and that the sexual practices of gay men pose health dangers. In this paper, he repeatedly misrepresents and distorts medical science, including the studies he cites in order to support his own beliefs. Furthermore, Dr. Holsinger makes several fallacious claims in his paper, which were refuted by widely published and well respected medical and public health journals. Some of these studies were published as much as a decade before Dr. Holsinger's paper.

His record also shows his support for reparative therapy to "cure" homosexuals. Reparative therapy, also called conversion or reorientation therapy, has been repeatedly discredited by mainstream medical, psychiatric and psychological organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association. This practice has been shown to lead to depression and even suicide. If Dr. Holsinger has approved of its use, it conflicts with his duty to accept and promote sound science in the interest of public health.

Dr. Holsinger's attempts to put a scientific veneer on his prejudices and his writing and support for a widely disputed and potentially harmful approach leads us to conclude that he is not able to adhere to the bedrock principles of science and puts his ability to advocate for the better health of all those living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS into serious question. We believe that if confirmed, he will not gain the confidence of people living with HIV/AIDS and will further marginalize and stigmatize LGBT people.

In the past, the Surgeons General of the U.S. have been at the forefront of leadership against HIV. For example Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General under President Ronald Reagan took the unprecedented action of mailing information about HIV to every U.S. household. Surgeon General David Satcher who served under President Clinton certified, on the basis of all available scientific evidence, that needle exchange both lowered the rate of transmission of HIV infection and did not increase substance abuse. Both of these decisions were made in the face of strong political opposition but faithfully adhered to the current science. We must expect no less of the next Surgeon General.

A Surgeon General with a record of prejudice towards and bias against lesbians and gay men would likely be a divisive, polarizing figure and detrimental to the health and well being of all Americans. Furthermore, a Surgeon General that is not committed to evidence-based science would jeopardize public heath efforts such as the prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Consequently, we oppose the nomination of Dr. James Holsinger Jr. for Surgeon General. As confirmation hearings ensue, we ask that you also oppose his nomination.

Sincerely,

Advocates for Youth
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc
AIDS Action Council
The AIDS Institute
AIDS Project Los Angeles
AIDS Survival Project, Georgia's Statewide Resource for Community-based Advocacy and HIV Treatment Education
American Academy of HIV Medicine
Americans for Safe Access
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Association of Nutrition Services Agencies
Gay Men's Health Crisis
HIVictorious, Inc.- Madison, Wisconsin
Legacy Community Health Services, Inc
Lifelong AIDS Alliance – Seattle, WA
Log Cabin Republicans
Montrose Counseling Center
Nashville Cares, Nashville TN
National Minority AIDS Council
National Organization for Women
New York AIDS Coalition
TII CANN - Title II Community AIDS National Network

CC: Members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

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