It’s no secret that Mike Pence has a destructive influence on LGBTQ rights. Pence’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act made it legal for shopkeepers and business owners in Indiana to discriminate against any person, organization or company as long as they cite their religious beliefs as to why. In 2006 he supported a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as “between a man and a woman”. He stated that “societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.” He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which made it criminal for an openly queer man or woman to serve in the military. I honestly couldn’t fit all of the terrible things he has done for or said about LGBTQ rights. So although it doesn’t surprise me, it saddens me that Mike Pence has let his homophobia rule his policies on public health.

As bad as his rhetoric and policies are, his ideas aren’t just affecting LGBTQ people on a social level. His homophobia caused an HIV outbreak, and his funding and support of conversion therapy have dramatically increased the depression, anxiety and suicide rates of the LGBTQ community.

In 2000, when Mike Pence was running for congress, he created a campaign website explaining his platform to potential voters. On his campaign website under the title of “Strengthening the American Family” he wrote:

“Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.”

Some of you might be a little confused by the bureaucratic jargon used here. That’s the reason why so many politicians have used it. So here is what he means:

The Ryan White Care Act is a federal law that allots money for the care and prevention of HIV. This includes money for medical and support services, research grants, clinical training, etc. Mike Pence says he wants to “ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus”. What he means here is that he doesn’t want any money to go to organizations that support LGBTQ individuals. Considering that 1 in 6 gay or bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV, taking away friendly environments for them to be treated would do more harm than good.

His next line states, “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” What Pence is referring to here is most often called conversion therapy. The American Psychiatric Association “opposes any psychiatric treatment such as reparative or conversion therapy which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that a patient should change his/her sexual homosexual orientation.” Homosexuality was officially declassified as an illness in 1973, yet it seems that Mike Pence never received that memo.

Conversion therapy isn’t a laughing matter. Although many of the procedures aren’t quite as archaic as they were, physical treatments are still used. Aversive conditioning is a common form of therapy and requires that pain or discomfort be applied to the patient while they are forced to watch homoerotic media. This can be as small as a rubber band flick or as bad as electric shocks. This is because there are no professional standards or guidelines to regulate this practice.

There is no scientific basis to conversion therapy, and minors are most affected by its practice. Many patients are forced into conversion camps by their parents or legal guardians and they are belittled and tortured, all for a treatment that doesn’t work. There is absolutely no justifiable reason for any government dollars to be spent on this practice.

If any readers are still on the fence about conversion therapy or you’re thinking to yourself, “well is it really that bad?” here, here, here, here, are personal accounts that may change your opinion.

I’m scared when I think about Mike Pence’s past and future hand in our healthcare. Taking any funds away from HIV care and prevention is a terrible mistake. According to the CDC, 75% of people in the United States living with the human immunodeficiency virus are living at or below the federal poverty level. The rate of HIV is inversely correlated with socioeconomic status- the lower the socioeconomic status, the higher the rate of HIV. This means that the people at the highest risk of getting the virus are the ones that would have the hardest time affording the health costs. 1.2 million people in the United states live with HIV, and Mike Pence wants to drain them of as much as he can.

Don’t kid yourself by thinking that Mike Pence only wants to take away the funds because he wants to save taxpayer money. He doesn’t care about HIV funding because it affects queer people the most. Now considering his past, it makes sense that he would allow the worst outbreak in state history to go completely untreated for months after it was brought to attention.

He set the stage for the outbreak in 2011 when the Indiana house passed Pence’s amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. He cut funding for a health organization that provides STI/STD testing, cancer screenings, sexual health care, contraception and information services because they are “too aggressive” about their abortion services (even though it’s illegal for government funds to be spent on abortion services).

Then in 2013, during Mike Pence’s first year as governor, the only Planned Parenthood center in Scott County closed due to the public health cuts. This was the only place in the county that provided HIV testing, leaving 24,000 people without easy access to tests. This county was going through a serious opioid problem. Rises in overdoses and Hepatitis C were being seen before the medical center was forced to close, and there were plenty of signs that needle-borne illnesses were making a rise.

But Indiana governor Mike Pence ignored the outcries from the community and the media. The outbreak was identified in January of 2015, and it took until April for Mike Pence to decide to allow temporary needle exchanges to be placed in the county.

Mike Pence has made it clear that he is morally opposed to needle exchange centers, claiming that they promote drug use. His views are ignorant to the fact that addiction is a disease. Someone can’t wake up in the morning and say “oh, look, there aren’t any clean needles around, I guess I’ll be drug-free from now on!”. This person would have little choice in the matter, as their addiction changes their brain chemistry into believing they are dependent on the drug, and withdrawal symptoms make people desperate. Injecting with a used needle seems like a better idea to them than to quit. His holier-than-thou attitude caused over 200 people in this county to become infected with HIV.

I can’t help but think that his lack of action here was influenced by his homophobia. I’m not saying that’s what solely caused his inaction- classism, misogyny, and ignorance were all factors here as well. It just really worries me.after all he’s said and done the amount of power he’s been elected into. Although generally speaking vice president’s don’t usually have a lot of political power, Donald Trump has promised that Mike Pence will have a strong role as his VP. He's a scary man with scary ideas and a scary amount of power to implement them. I sincerely hope that the efforts of the LGBTQ community and their allies are enough to steer public policy in the right direction.