Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 13 Sep 95
Norman R. Augustine, chairman of the Red Cross, said Mrs. Dole shared with him "only in her personal capacity" questions about materials to accompany an expanded training program for instructors who teach AIDS prevention.
Augustine said he appointed a task force to review the materials because Mrs. Dole didn't want it to appear that politics played a role in the Red Cross' decision. Mrs. Dole's husband, Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, is courting conservatives in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
"This was a nonpolitical issue," said Augustine, who is also chairman of Lockheed Martin. "It's an issue that concerns the responsibility of the Red Cross to carry out a responsible HIV-AIDS program and to do it in a manner that is not offensive to large segments of the public."
Dole's campaign also denied any link between the AIDS program and the campaign. "The Red Cross maintains its neutrality in wars. It certainly can manage to stay neutral in a political contest," said Dole spokesman Nelson Warfield.
In one example of changes, the task force requested an emphasis on preventing the spread of HIV by avoiding intravenous drugs. The original materials emphasized using clean needles, Augustine said. The task force also requested that a poster depicting proper use of a condom be redrawn along less explicit lines.
Coordinators of the AIDS program at Red Cross chapters around the country have been waiting for the materials, which were promised in March. Shana Ross, a Red Cross official in Houston, said the program delay had been "shrouded in mystery."
"It's unconscionable that we don't know why the materials have been delayed," she said. "What that did is it left everything up to conjecture and speculation."
Some speculated on a tie between Sen. Dole's political ambitions and his appeals to conservative voters.
"Frankly, it's demeaning to women to suggest that Mrs. Dole would compromise her professional integrity just because she happens to be the wife of a political candidate," Warfield said.
Shepherd Smith, president of Americans for a Sound AIDS/HIV Policy, a conservative advocacy group that has reviewed programs for the Red Cross for a half-dozen years, said his group "found the material to be extremely deficient."
He said the material did little to promote abstinence from drugs and sex and didn't adequately address the importance of early diagnosis. Smith said he sent a note to Mrs. Dole telling her of the group's concerns.
While the Red Cross doesn't normally ask its board members to review instructional programs, Augustine noted that most of the organization's materials deal with such noncontroversial subjects as first aid and swimming lessons. AIDS is a different matter, he said.
"My concern that this might prove to be controversial has proven to be true," Augustine said. "Our task force itself had varying views."
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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