The Senate and the House get hung up on issues like these, and if they don't hear an overwhelming response from the American people, they are likely to pass an AIDS bill that will keep Christians from being involved.

The full House is going to consider this bill very soon—so get to your House members. Call them on the phone. Tell them that it is imperative that they support the president's initiative, but only with amendments that make abstinence first and provide a conscience clause for religious workers.

I think this initiative is one of the most important bills that has been offered by our government. As the president said, it will define what kind of nation we are. I don't say this often, but we need you. Please call. Please help.

Take action:

Urge your congressman to support the amendments to the AIDS bill (H.R. 1298) that make abstinence first and provide a conscience clause for faith-based organizations. The Capitol switchboard is 1-202-224-3121. 

(Townhall.com Editor's note: You can also contact your congressman through Family Research Council, ConservativePetitions.com, or Concerned Women for America.)

For further reading and information:

William J. Bennett and Charles W. Colson, "Africa's AIDS Crisis," Washington Times, 29 April 2003.

Read BreakPoint's fact sheet on "A Responsible Approach to a Global AIDS Policy."

"President Urges Congress to Act Quickly on Global HIV/AIDS Initiative," Remarks by the President on Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, The East Room, White House Office of the Press Secretary, 29 April 2003.

Also read "Fact Sheet: The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief."

Arthur Allen, "Sex Change: Uganda v. Condoms," New Republic, 16 May 2002.

Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, "Prevention Means More than Condoms," Daily Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg), 4 October 2002.

Visit Prescription for Hope for more ideas on what faith-based groups can do. Also visit World Relief, World Vision, and Compassion International.

The aWAKE Project: Uniting against the African AIDS Crisis (W Publishing, 2002) is a collection of stories and essays geared toward educating and mobilizing Americans to help with the AIDS crisis in Africa.

BreakPoint Commentary No. 020317, "The African AIDS Crisis: Fighting a Modern-Day Plague."