Among The SOTU Guests Tonight

A woman whose very presence in the US is against the law:

 Tatu Msangi, a nurse and single mother from Tanzania: Tatu Msangi is a 35-year-old single mother from Tanzania.  When Tatu became pregnant, she went to the antenatal clinic at KCMC and discovered she was HIV-positive.  Tatu enrolled in a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program and delivered a healthy daughter, named Faith.  As part of her treatment, Faith received a dose of nevirapine after she was born.  She is now over two years old, and she is HIV-free.  As part of her work at KCMC, Tatu counsels HIV-positive women and encourages them to participate in the PMTCT program.  KCMC is supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief's (PEPFAR) through the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.  Tatu and her daughter Faith are examples of the hope and compassion that is transforming lives with support from PEPFAR.

Tatu is also legally barred from coming to America. The administration must have found a way to get Msangi a special waiver from immigration authorities allowing her to enter the country. Another reason to support the Kerry-Smith proposal to end the still-valid Jesse Helms ban on all HIV-positive non-Americans visiting the U.S.