Proclamation 5892 --
National AIDS Awareness and Prevention Month, 1988
By
the President of the
of
A
Proclamation
Nearly
75,000 Americans have been diagnosed as having the fatal disease AIDS, and more than 41,000 have already died from it. The
Public Health Service estimates that an additional one to one-and-a-half
million Americans have been infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),
which causes AIDS. Most of the infected individuals now show no symptoms, but it
is likely that over the next few years they will develop AIDS or AIDS-related
illnesses.
Extensive
efforts by Government and the private sector are underway in the fight against
AIDS and HIV infection, and great strides have been made. In the 7 years since
the first reports of AIDS cases, the virus has been identified; the ways in
which it is spread have been pinpointed; an AIDS antibody screening test has
been developed and is being used to protect blood supplies; the first steps
toward development of a protective vaccine have been taken; and promising drugs
to fight the HIV and its manifestations are being synthesized and tested.
Nevertheless,
today we have neither a cure for AIDS nor a vaccine against HIV infection. For
this reason, it is vital that every individual know how HIV infection is spread
-- and that we understand how to prevent the spread. The virus is most commonly
spread through sexual contact with an infected person, especially through
homosexual practices; through intravenous drug use with contaminated needles;
and through other transmissions of infected blood. The virus is not commonly
spread through ordinary, everyday, nonsexual contact.
To
prevent the further spread of AIDS and HIV infection, we must heed lessons
taught by medicine and morality alike. The Surgeon General has reminded all of
us that the best way to prevent AIDS and the HIV is to abstain from sexual
activity until adulthood and then to restrict sex to a faithful, monogamous
relationship. This wise counsel, along with saying ``no'' to illegal drugs, can
prevent the spread of most AIDS and HIV cases. Parents should explain to their
children the goodness and blessings of chastity before marriage, of solid
family life, and of a drug-free way of life.
One
of
The
Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 192, has designated October 1988 as
``National AIDS Awareness and Prevention Month'' and authorized and requested
the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of October,
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,
Note: The proclamation
was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 31.