A gay Anglican priest from the diocese of New Westminster has gone public that he’s dying of AIDS and urged Health Canada to grant him and four others access to two new drugs that could save their lives.
Rev. Michael Forshaw, 64, of St. Paul’s Anglican church in Vancouver, was granted permission to speak out by his bishop, Michael Ingham.
Mr. Forshaw joined B.C. artist Tiko Kerr in urging Health Canada to release two antiretroviral drugs – TMC114 and TMC125 – under the Special Access Program, intended to provide access to drugs unavailable in Canada on “compassionate” grounds.
Health Canada has announced that it would expedite approval of the special trial on the two drugs, the Vancouver Sun reported. Earlier, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh refused to give approval to the program “because the drugs are deemed too experimental and, taken together, might pose a health risk to the dying men,” said the Vancouver Sun.
Mr. Forshaw, is believed to be the first gay Anglican priest in Canada to admit that he’s dying of AIDS.