As one of the most influential and successful actions in the global fight against AIDS, PEPFAR — short for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — long enjoyed the rarified air of bipartisan support in Washington. The program, credited for saving more than 26 million lives since its launch in 2003, was the crowning achievement of a Republican president, George W. Bush, and sailed through a series of reauthorization votes under both Republican and Democratic majorities in Congress.

Now, however, PEPFAR is facing an existential threat after finding itself in the crosshairs of partisan politics. Some legislators, alarmed by reports of 21 abortions performed through a PEPFAR-funded clinic in Mozambique, seem ready to end the program, whose one-year reauthorization expires on March 25.

If Congress fails to renew or modify the program in the next few weeks, prevention and treatment services that have been the cornerstone of global progress against HIV and AIDS will be severely disrupted. Some 20 million people living with HIV will lose access to medications they depend on to stay healthy. According to an analysis by the United Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS, a long-term loss of PEPFAR funding would lead to

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