LETTERS
The patient with AIDS
I congratulate you on publishing a readable journal which will raise the concerns of practicing doctors about inescapable ethical mention of their activities.
The essay on The pntimt with AIDS (February-April 1994) is generally laudable. I realise that we read these things through the perspective of our own culture. To talk of homosexuals as ‘deviants’ (page 2) appears judgmental and contrary to the message contained in the bulk of the essay. It is also unscientific. Modern research shows that homosexuality is, in most cases, simply a genetic variation like left-handedness. For educated medical practitioners to have ignorant attitudes about it is unforgivable – and in the contest of fighting HIV/AIDS, reprehensible.
I recently attended a conference in India where I delivered an address on HIV/AIDS. I attach a copy. You may extract parts of it if you wish.
The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby The President Court of Appeal Supreme Court, Sydney, Australia
(We had used the word ‘deviant’ as referring to aberrant or unconventional. Mr. Justice Kirby’s point is, however, well taken especially when viewed in the light of the arguments in his address.
The proposals under consideration in Australia are thoughtprovoking. Please see pages 3-6 in this issue for extracts from Mr. Kirby’s address. – Editor)
