In a previous blog, I discussed how as a person of faith, my identity as being pro-life stretches beyond the abortion and death penalty debates; instead, there is a need to defend life vis-a-vis access to quality education, employment, healthcare, political expression, and a clean, sustainable environment. I am cognizant of the fact that my definition of what it means to be pro-life does not hold true for many of those who identify themselves as being part of the latter.

AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis cause more than 90 percent of all deaths from infectious diseases around the world. While many are deeply disturbed by and disappointed with the current administration, I must commend it for its leadership in addressing the global AIDS crisis, as is evident in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The State Department defines PEPFAR as "the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease -- a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world. The United States now leads the world in its level of support for the fight against HIV/AIDS." Nevertheless, despite the overwhelming bipartisan support for the reauthorization of PEPFAR, there is a group of seven Republicans known as the "Coburn Seven," who identify themselves as pro-life, yet are voting against the reauthorization of PEPFAR.

Coburn Seven is headed by Tom Coburn, and includes Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, Saxby Chambliss, David Vitter, Jim Bunning, and Richard Burr. Coburn also serves as an adviser on health issues to John McCain. The House has already passed S. 2731, the Global AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria bill, but it is this small group of seven senators who are holding up the approval of this bill. There's a concern that the program is costly and the Coburn Seven is skeptical of how the funds will be used. But, the bill goes beyond the abstinence versus contraception as it takes a holistic approach to global health. The program includes special provisions for orphans, women, and girls; it trains more nurses and doctors and invests in local clinics and other health institutions, and; it recognizes how the roles of gender violence, unsanitary housing, and education in the high rates of HIV/AIDS among the aforementioned populations. If these senators identify themselves as pro-life, then why get in the way of passing a bill that could have dramatic effects on the lives of 3 million HIV-AIDS infected people? Is it because most of those whom PEPFAR is targeting are African, and such life is not necessarily recognized as sacred and worth advocating for in comparison to an American life? I would hope that this is not the case, as it would hearken back to the day of blacks being 3/5 of a person. Or are these seven senators simply making sure that our country doesn't attempt to address the world's problems without first tending to its own people? And to this I would respond, why are we so generous in Iraq while Katrina and its aftermath occurs in our backyard?