Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R–Texas) defended a controversial statement about AIDS during a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace on January 1. “The individual suffering from AIDS is certainly a victim, frequently a victim of his own lifestyle, but this same individual victimizes individual citizens by forcing them to pay for his care,” Paul wrote in his 1987 book Freedom Under Siege. When asked if he still supported this position, Paul maintained that people with AIDS often got the disease because of their personal behavior. He added that the financial burden for their care should not be placed on “innocent” people. Paul would not deny people with AIDS health care insurance, but he would let the market and insurance companies sort it out, directly implying that people with AIDS should pay more.

Watch the Fox News interview (comments begin at 3:08):


To read "Ron Paul, Chris Wallace Need AIDS Education" in the POZ Blogs, click here.