Hundreds Jeer Bowen During Speech on AIDS

Several hundred people stood in protest, laughing and jeering, at the Reagan Administration policy on AIDs while Health and Human Services Secretary Otis R. Bowen delivered his concluding remarks today at the Third International Conference on AIDS.

The protesters, many of them medical researchers, were following the lead of a flyer passed out beforehand that condemned the Administration’s advocacy of testing for the AIDS virus.

No author was identified in the leaflet.

“The politics of AIDS as defined by the Reagan Administration and the U.S. Congress shows ignorance and contempt for the collective wisdom of the world medical and scientific community,” the flyer said.

“We urge you to stand for mercy, for understanding and for the future of humanity.

“This is your opportunity,” the leaflet said, “to send a clear message to the world that to end the AIDS pandemic we need research, not forced testing; education, not legislation, and health care, not discrimination.”

Loud Comments

In his talk, Bowen covered points made during the conference and called for international cooperation. At several points, hecklers interrupted with loud comments. When Bowen made a reference to AIDS victims, one woman shouted out: “People with AIDS, not victims!”

Another heckler urged Bowen to “put a gay person on the panel” in reference to the makeup of the President’s proposed advisory committee on AIDS.

When Bowen referred to himself as “still a small-town physician,” another heckler jeered, “You’re still small-town.”

One of the few remarks Bowen made that got applause came when he said, “(AIDS) is not a ‘them’ and ‘us’ thing. This is truly a just ‘us’ thing.”

In face of the protest, Bowen added a final comment to his prepared speech.

“I really don’t object to your protest. . . . I shall not turn my back on the problem of AIDS or the people who have it.”