Opinion: In defence of rational AIDS activism: How the irrationality of Act Up-Paris and others is risking the health of people with HIV or at risk of HIV infection

This article describes the irrational actions of Act Up-Paris and some other organisations in recent years. We have written it because their activities are threatening the development of new treatment and prevention technologies for people with HIV. They are also undermining scientific research programmes in developing countries. The groups we discuss here couch their anti-science agenda in progressive rhetoric. They therefore persuade some well-intentioned people and organisations unfamiliar with HIV science to support their causes. But there is nothing progressive about hindering life-saving medical research. Act Up-Paris and the other organisations discussed here are endangering the lives of people with HIV; they have to be exposed. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 9 (2) 2008: pp. 12-17