Singer Elton John on Monday called Georgia Rep. Betty Price's comments about HIV patients, "horrific, discriminatory, and astonishingly ill-informed," according to a report in Politico.
Price, the wife of former U.S. Health Secretary Tom Price, last week asked a state health official whether people with HIV could legally be quarantined. The Republican lawmaker made the comments during a legislative committee meeting but later told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was just being "provocative" and her comments were "taken completely out of context."
"I do not support a quarantine in this public health challenge and dilemma of undertreated HIV patients," Price said in a statement. "I do, however, wish to light a fire under all of us with responsibility in the public health arena — a fire that will result in resolve and commitment to ensure that all of our fellow citizens with HIV will receive, and adhere to, a treatment regimen that will enhance their quality of life and protect the health of the public. I look forward to continuing to work with all to accomplish this goal."
John, who established his foundation in 1992, said Price should have known better.
"Rep. Betty Price's comments about people living with HIV are horrific, discriminatory, and astonishingly ill-informed," John said in a statement released through the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "As a doctor and elected official from a state where people are still contracting HIV at an alarming rate, Mrs. Price should know better than to demonize people and perpetuate myths that stigmatize people living with HIV."
"Her words smack of a dark time when there was little or no information about HIV and people were afraid of each other. Today, thanks to scientific advancements, growing acceptance and love, people living with HIV are living longer, healthier lives. We also know people living with HIV pose no public threat."
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