A tragic choice, controversy and public decision. The case of drawing lotswith aids patients.

In 1966 the first medicine allowing a real remission of the aids illness ap peared : anti-proteinases. Between the moment their effectiveness was decla red and the moment when they became available to all patients, only a very insufficient quantity was made available in France. Confronted with this te mporary situation of a "tragic choice", the Conseil national du sida (Natio nal committee for aids) suggested distributing this medicine by means of a draw. This article is a monographic study of the creating of this situation . of the controversy over the draw, and its consequences. It follows two ob jectives : 1) it gives a model to analyze the controversies, by studying th e link between the work of media and collective action; 2) It illustrates t he evolution within the actor network (pharmaceutical firms, clinicians, pa tients' associations, agencies, authorities) which ensure the arrival of HI V medicine on the French market.