February 26, 2025

Courage in the Face of a Constitutional Crisis

The Academy joined the AIDS United Public Policy Council (AU PPC) February 11 through 13 in Washington, D.C. for its monthly meeting. Each organization present recommitted itself to addressing health disparities and racial inequities that have long inflicted the HIV community, especially in light of the recent executive orders from the White House.

“Our values are not for sale. Our mission is not up for negotiation. And our community will not be erased to satisfy a hateful political agenda,” promised Tyler TerMeer, Co-chair of the AU PPC.

Tyler reminded the PPC that in 2020, in Diversity Center v. Trump, Lambda Legal succeeded in blocking an executive order that prohibited federal contractors and grantees from engaging in grant-funded work that explicitly acknowledges and confronts the existence of structural racism and sexism in our society.

On February 20, Lambda Legal challenged three of the latest executive orders that together seek to erase transgender people from public life, defund the organizations that provide them with life-saving services, and terminate equity-related grants essential to the health and lives of other underserved communities.

In the wake of these executive orders, providers of HIV care have been threatened to alter their mission to provide sexual health care, HIV prevention and treatment, and other life-saving health care for every person who walks through their doors.

HIV research, treatment programs and prevention services are designed to correct systemic harms and, if taken away, our nation will have lost four decades of investments and resources and, more importantly, our communities will be left without a safety net.

At our Board meeting next month, the Academy will consider its role in responding to this onslaught of political threats in three areas.

• Positioning and Orientation. What should the Academy’s new policy priorities be given the recent executive orders and this hostile political climate?

• Engagement. How will we identify and equip those members who wish to engage in the policy and advocacy work this year?

• Collaboration. How will we partner, collaborate and strategize with other policymakers, leaders and organizations?

As we begin addressing these questions, if you have additional ideas on ways we should consider our members’ practical challenges at this moment, we need to hear from you. Please email chauncey@aahivm.org on or before March 1. Even after the HIV epidemic ends, we must continue to fight until every person has the right and ability to access life-sustaining health care.

Suggested HIV Advocacy Talking Points from the AIDS United PPC February Meeting

• Tailor your message to address the politics of the particular office you are visiting.
• Remember your primary aim is to convey the necessary education to fund HIV-focused organizations to meet the needs of the populations we serve.
• Protect your safety and those in meetings with you by confining your talking points to basic information about the HIV epidemic.
• Consider noting that recent attempts to freeze already appropriated federal funding—including funding for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program–underscores the necessity of Congress to maintain control over its constitutionally granted “power of the purse.”
• Provide specific examples of how the broad federal funding freeze has or potentially may impact your organization, including whether or not you were able to draw down funds from any impacted grants.
• Share the extent to which the broad federal funding freeze prohibits or could prohibit your organization from providing necessary services or supporting staff.

ACADEMY HAPPENINGS

Advocacy Action in Louisiana for Pharmacist-Prescribed PrEP

The Louisiana State Legislature has proposed Act 711, which allows pharmacists to initiate PrEP and PEP, thereby addressing significant disparities in PrEP access and education across the state, particularly among Black women and rural communities, which are crucial in the fight against HIV. This Act aims to expand access to PrEP, but it also faces controversy. The Academy issued a call to action to its members across Louisiana to submit written public comment by mail or email weighing in on this critical issue.

COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS AND SIGN-ONS

Braidwood Litigation at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court agreed to take up Braidwood v. Becerra, which endangers the ACA requirement to cover USPSTF-recommended preventive services at no cost. The Academy previously joined several organizations led by the HIV-Hepatitis Policy Institute on the amicus brief when the case was before the Fifth Circuit. The HIV-Hepatitis Policy institute has now engaged Richard H. Hughes IV to prepare and file an amicus brief before the Supreme Court focusing on the ramifications of the case for people and communities affected by HIV and viral hepatis, along with the ramifications for PrEP. The Academy has again signed on to an amicus brief, led by the HIV-Hepatitis Policy Institute.

Balancing the Weight of Executive Orders

On February 5, the Academy joined the USPLHIV Caucus, Equality Federation, and other networks serving people with HIV to discuss the impact of recent executive orders. These advocacy organizations shared what they are doing both around policy and advocacy as well as strategies to balance actions of protest and resistance with actions supporting mental health and self-care.

Supporting Transgender Health Care Providers

On February 7, the Academy joined HIVMA and IDSA for a transgender provider meeting to hear suggestions on how clinicians may be supported during this difficult time. Jennifer Levi, the Senior Director for Transgender and Queer Rights for GLAAD, suggested that this moment is calling for a transformation from chaos and panic into a decision-making structure that often includes legal challenges.