HIV Criminalization
“Burden of Proof.”
(POZ, January 2015)
Is criminalizing HIV ever a good idea?
The stories have all the makings of lurid crime dramas. For decades, media reports have alleged that HIV-positive men and women are deliberately seeking to transmit the virus to others. Although some of the stories are more salacious than others, they all share a common effect: They stoke the fires of stigma.
(POZ, January 2015)
Is criminalizing HIV ever a good idea?
The stories have all the makings of lurid crime dramas. For decades, media reports have alleged that HIV-positive men and women are deliberately seeking to transmit the virus to others. Although some of the stories are more salacious than others, they all share a common effect: They stoke the fires of stigma.
“Is It Murder?” (HIV Plus, January 2009)
Is HIV transmission murder if the person who becomes infected dies of AIDS-related complications?
What if the HIV-positive individual knew of his or her serostatus in advance and failed to disclose it? What if he or she lied and claimed to be HIV-negative knowing full well that it was possible to infect another? Is HIV a deadly weapon?
Those were the thorny legal and moral issues addressed this fall when an HIV-positive Canadian man was charged with murder for transmitting the virus to others. Legal experts believe the case is the first instance of a U.S. or Canadian murder trial in which HIV was the alleged weapon.
Is HIV transmission murder if the person who becomes infected dies of AIDS-related complications?
What if the HIV-positive individual knew of his or her serostatus in advance and failed to disclose it? What if he or she lied and claimed to be HIV-negative knowing full well that it was possible to infect another? Is HIV a deadly weapon?
Those were the thorny legal and moral issues addressed this fall when an HIV-positive Canadian man was charged with murder for transmitting the virus to others. Legal experts believe the case is the first instance of a U.S. or Canadian murder trial in which HIV was the alleged weapon.
