Is The Decriminalization of HIV Laws Progression, or Retrogression?

In California, some lawmakers want to repeal the laws circling the criminalization of HIV. Which means it will no longer be a felony for someone who has tested HIV-positive to not tell their partner. While these lawmakers may have good intentions, there’s no denying the fact that this could severely impact people’s worlds, especially the LGBTQ+’s. A bill proposed by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) states that it would be classified as a misdemeanor, rather a felony, to expose someone to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a disease that causes AIDS. Sen. Wiener believes that if the stigma against HIV is decriminalized, it “sends a clear message that we are going to take a science-based approach to HIV, not a fear-based approach.”

This same law would apply to not only unprotected sex, but blood & semen donation. HIV is contracted through unprotected sex, and is found in greater numbers for unprotected anal sex, and can also be contracted through birth. HIV also runs a high risk of contraction through medical procedures involving needles and blood.

While this law may be taking a different perspective to control and help the communities and people affected by HIV, we may just be setting ourselves back a bit and putting more people at risk. “When you criminalize HIV or stigmatize people who have HIV, it encourages people not to get tested,” Wiener says “to stay in the shadows, not to be open about their status, not to seek treatment.” While this may run true, it can also be argued that when there isn’t jail time involved, or felony convictions, people may feel more comfortable running amongst knowingly infecting people, an act that is currently punishable with up to 7 years in jail.

Sen. Wiener says the felony law is a result of the relic of the AIDS scare, a darker time during the 80s when treatment wasn’t available, or effective. While there are treatments for AIDS, nearly 35 million people have died from HIV related illnesses. Will this bill only add to that collection of bodies, or will it greatly reduce it?