The Region : Liberace Case Criticized

The chairman of a congressional health subcommittee criticized the way the Riverside County coroner broke the news that Liberace suffered from AIDS. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said he supported Coroner Raymond Carrillo’s efforts to to correct Liberace’s death certificate but added that he found “repugnant” the “way this whole issue was handled, with the coroner running to the press and holding a press conference.” In an interview on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America,” Waxman, who heads the House Energy Committee’s subcommittee on health and environment, said privacy of acquired immune deficiency syndrome sufferers should be respected while they live. The issue changes when an AIDS sufferer dies, he said, and at that time public safety must come first.