Margaret Thatcher didn’t want to warn the public that sex spread HIV

Lady Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, exits a limousine on the ramp at Andrews Air Force Base (AFB), Maryland (MD).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The release of Russell T. Davies’ AIDS-themed drama It’s a Sin in the United Kingdom has prompted a review of government actions to address the epidemic at the time it swept the world. Enduring renewed criticism: former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who, her colleagues now claim, didn’t want to educate the public about the link between AIDS and sexual behavior.

The BBC now reports that Lord Fowler, who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Services from 1981-1987–the height of the AIDS epidemic–says that Thatcher didn’t want to concern herself with the disease, and had severe reservations when it came to warning the public. Thatcher had objected to a packet mailed to British households warning about how HIV could be contracted through sex.

Related: Margaret Thatcher Dead At 87

“Her concern was – it’s always seemed to me a bit odd – that we were teaching people,” Lord Fowler said, “telling people things about which they didn’t know – the implication being that, once they knew it, then they would go out and experiment. Well, as this was exactly the opposite of our message, it did seem to me curious.”

Fowler also said that Thatcher initially used her clout as Prime Minister to block public discussion of the virus, and its association with the gay population. Fowler and his cohorts eventually…

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